-Vl-7 


THE 

.MODEEN    FACTORY 

SAFETY,  SANITATION  AND  WELFAKE 


BY 

GEORGE  M.  PRICE,   M.D. 

Director,  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control  in  the  Cloak,  Suit  and  Skirt 
and  the  Dress  and  Waist  Industries,  New  York  City 
Formerly  Director  of  Investigation,  New 
York  State  Factory  Commission 


FIRST   EDITION 
FIRST  THOUSAND 


NEW  YORK 

JOHN  WILEY  &  SONS, 
LONDON:  CHAPMAN  &  HALL,  LIMITED 
1914 


Copyright,  1914 

BY 

GEORGE  M.  PRICE 


THE   SCIENTIFIC    PRESS 

ROBERT    DRUMMONO    AND   COMPANY 

BROOKYLN,    N.    Y. 


TO 

Mary  t  Srmr 

THE    HEART    AND    SOUL 

OF   THE 
NEW  YORK  STATE    FACTORY   COMMISSION 

THIS  BOOK 
IS   DEDICATED   IN  APPRECIATION  AND  RESPECT 


PEEFACE 


THERE  were  in  the  United  States,  according  to  the  census  of 
1909,  268,491  industrial  establishments  in  which  there  worked 
6,615,046^persons.  These  figures  do  not  include  a  great  many 
smaller  workshops  in  stores,  separate  parts  of  industrial  estab- 
lishments and  small  domestic  workshops. 

The  modern  factory  is,  therefore,  a  paramount  economic  force 
in  the  social  and  industrial  life  of  the  country  and  the  nation. 

Factory  and  labor  legislation,  industrial  relations  between 
capital  and  labor,  improvement  of  factory  conditions  and  ameli- 
oration of  the  conditions  of  the  large  mass  of  American  workers 
are  the  burning  questions  of  the  day  and  the  most  vital  problems 
of  the  hour. 

The  Federal  government,  the  legislatures  of  individual  states 
and  many  private  social  organizations  throughout  the  country 
vie  with  each  other  in  numerous  inquiries,  conferences,  inves- 
tigations, commissions,  exhibits,  etc.,  all  bearing  on  the  subject 
of  industrial  and  factory  conditions. 

The  time  is  ripe  for  a  treatise  on  the  modern  factory;  for,  in 
spite  of  all  the  intense  interest  in  the  subject  of  industrial  and 
factory  conditicns,  there  is  as  yet  no  specfal  book  on  this  subject  in 
the  English  language. 

An  attempt  is  made  in  this  book  to  give  a  comprehensive, 
although  necessarily  brief,  review  of  the  safety  and  sanitary  con- 
ditions of  factories  and  workshops  as  they  are,  and  to  indicate 
the  methods  of  safety,  sanitation,  efficiency  and  welfare  of  fac- 
tories and  workshops  as  they  should  be. 

As  sanitary  inspector  of  the  New  York  Health  Department 
for  a  number  of  years,  as  student  and  teacher  of  sanitary  science, 
as  practitioner  for  twenty  years  in  the  most  crowded  section  of 
the  East  Side  in  New  York  City,  as  author*  of  a  number  of  books 
on  general  sanitation  and  hygiene,  the  writer  has  had  special  oppor- 
tunities for  studying  industrial  workers  and  industrial  conditions 
at  first  hand. 


VI 


PKEFACE 


Since  1910  the  author  has  been  and  still  is  the  Director  of  the 
Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control  in  the  Cloak,  Suit  and  Skirt  and 
the  Dress  and  Waist  Industries,  this  new  experiment  in  the  sani- 
tary control  of  «an  industry  by  those  most  interested  in  the  indus- 
try itself:  viz.,  organized  employers,  organized  workmen  and 
representatives  of  the  public.  In  1912  and  1913  the  author  was 
the  Director  of  the  investigations  of  the  New  York  State  Factory 
Commission,  during  which  time  he  made  extensive  tours  of  inspec- 
tion throughout  the  state,  visiting  hundreds  of  establishments 
in  this  as  well  as  in  other  states.  During  the  summer  of  1913 
he  made  for  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor  a  study  of 
factory  inspection  in  England,  France,  Germany,  Austria,  Belgium 
and  Switzerland,  the  result  of  which  has  been  published  in  a  report 
issued  as  Bulletin  No.  142  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics. 

Acknowledgment  is  due  to  the  Honorable  Robert  F.  Wagner, 
State  Senator  of  New  York  and  Chairman  of  the  New  York  State 
Factory  Commission,  and  to  the  Honorable  Abram  I.  Elkus,  Coun- 
sel for  the  Commission,  for  permission  to  use  many  of  the  illustra- 
tions which  have  appeared  previously  in  my  official  reports  to  the 
Commission.  Thanks  are  also  due  to  the  many  industrial  cor- 
porations and  private  individuals  who  have  kindly  loaned  me 
illustrations,  full  credit  for  which  has  been  given  in  the  text  of  the 
book. 

Grateful  acknowledgments  are  due  to  the  following  gentle- 
men: Professor  C.-E.  A.  Winslow  for  reading  the  chapter  on 
"Ventilation";  Messrs.  J.  K.  Freitag  and  H.  F.  J.  Porter  for 
reading  the  chapter  on  "Fire  Protection  ";  Mr.  William  Newell 
of  the  New  York  Labor  Department  for  reading  the  chapter  on 
"  Safety  and  Accident  Prevention";  and  Mr.  Norman  Macbeth 
for  revising  the  chapter  on  "  Light  and  Illumination." 

I  cheerfully  acknowledge  my  gratitude  to  Miss  Violet  Pike, 
my  literary  assistant  and  secretary,  for  her  most  efficient,  faithful 
and  industrious  help  in  looking  up  literature,  in  reading  manu- 
scripts and  proofs,  in  gathering  data  and  general  help  in  the 
laborious  work  of  writing  and  bringing  the  book  to  press. 

The  book  has  been  written  and  prepared  for  press  within  less 
than  six  months.  It  is  inevitable  that  in  such  a  hasty  preparation 
there  will  be  found  a  number  of  errors  of  omission  and  commission, 
for  which  indulgence  is  craved  and  which  will  be  corrected  in 
future  editions  if  such  are  called  for. 

31  UNION  SQUARE,  NEW  YORK. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE 

INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION: 

The  Three  Methods  of  Production.  Domestic  Production.  Handi- 
craft Production.  The  Modern  Factory  System.  Importance  of  the 
Place  of  Work 1 

INDUSTRY,  THE  WORKPLACE  AND  THEIR  INFLUENCE  IN  ANCIENT  TIMES: 
Industry  and  the  Workplace  in  Egypt.  Industry  in  Greece.  The  Char- 
acter of  the  Workplace  in  Greece.  The  Opinion  of  Greek  Philosophers 
and  Physicians  on  the  Influence  of  Industry  and  the  Workplace  upon 
Health.  Associations  of  Wage  Workers.  Roman  Guilds.  Roman 
Workshops.  The  Condition  of  Slave  Workers 3 

INDUSTRY  AND  THE  WORKPLACE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES: 

The  Guild  System.  The  Beginning  of  the  Decay  of  the  Guilds. 
Large  Workshops  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  Character  of  the  Work- 
shop in  the  Medieval  Period.  Description  of  Medieval  Workshops. 
The  Opinion  of  Physicians  on  the  Influence  of  the  Workplace  upon 
Health.  Ramazzini  and  His  Work 7 

THE  MODERN  FACTORY  SYSTEM: 

Its  Birth  and  Rise.  The  Revolution  in  the  Textile  Industry.  The 
Invention  of  Textile  Machinery.  Increase  in  Textile  Production. 
The  Beginning  of  Factory  Production  in  the  United  States.  Growth 
of  Manufacture  in  the  United  States 17 

THE  INDUSTRIAL  REVOLUTION  AND  ITS  INFLUENCE: 

Expansion  of  Trade.  Growth  of  Population.  Concentration  of  Pop- 
ulation in  Industrial  Cities.  Division^  Labor.  Creation  of  Classes. 
Causes  of  Poverty.  Character  of  the  First  Workshops.  Exploitation 
of  Child  Labor.  Commissions  of  Inquiry  into  the  Conditions  of  Child 
Labor.  Evidence  before  such  Commissions.  Mortality  and  Morbidity 
Statistics.  Etiological  Factors  of  Occupational  Mortality  and  Mor- 
bidity    24 

DEFINITIONS  OF  FACTORY  AND  WORKSHOP: 

Origin  of  the  Word,  "  Factory/^  Definitions  of  "  Mill,"  "  Factory  " 
and  "  Workshop."  Definitions  l>f  "  Factory  "  and  "  Workshop  "  in 
England.  In  Germany  and  other  Countries.  Definitions  of 
"  Factory,"  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Massachusetts  and 

Minnesota 33 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

MANUFACTURING  ESTABLISHMENTS  THROUGHOUT  THE  WORLD: 

United  States.  England.  France.  Austria.  Belgium.  Prussia. 
Germany 36 

CHAPTER  II 

THE  WORKPLACE 

TYPES: 

Changes  in  Types  of  Factories.  The  Domestic  Workplace.  Home 
Work  in  European  Countries.  Home  Work  in  the  United  States. 
Evils  of  Home  Work.  The  Workshop.  Statistics  of  Small  Work- 
shops. Sanitary  Conditions  of  Workshops.  Tenant  Factories.  Loft 
Multiple  Workshops 39 

SPECIAL  FACTORIES: 

Proportion  of  Industry  Carried  on  in  Special  Factories.  Census  of 
Industrial  Plants.  Regulation  of  Building  Construction.  Diversity 
of  Structure.  Site.  Surroundings.  Frame  Construction.  Mill  Con- 
struction. Reinforced  Concrete.  Height  of  Buildings.  Walls.  Floors. 
Floor  Construction.  Internal  Arrangements 53 

MODEL  FACTORIES: 

Conception.  Definition.  Early  Model  Factories.  Robert  Owen. 
Fourier.  Model  Factories  Abroad  and  in  the  United  States 66 

CHAPTER  III 
FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION 

I.  NUMBER  AND  EXTENT  OF  FACTORY  FIRES: 

The  Wolf  Factory  Fire  in  Newark.      Ash  Building  Fire,  New  York. 
The  Freeman  Binghamton  Fire.     Fire  Loss  in  the  United  States  and 
Europe.     Comparative  Table.     Extent  of  Fire  Loss.     Loss  of  Life.  . .     72 
II.  INDUSTRIAL  FIRES,  CAUSES  AND  PREVENTION: 

Analysis  of  Causes  of  Fires.     Causes  of  Origin  of  Fires.     Spontaneous 
Combustion.      Lighting.      Exposure.      Incendiarism.      Personal  Neg-^^ 
lect.    Power.    Heat.    Light.    Illumination.    Materials.    Processes 79 

III.  SPREAD  OF  FIRES: 

Density  of  Area  and  Crowding  in  Buildings.  Lack  of  Horizontal  and 
Vertical  Isolation.  Fire  Walls.  Fire  Construction.  Materials  of 
Construction.  Mill  Construction.  Other  Forms  of  Construction. 
Construction  of  Walls.  Partitions.  Doors.  Stairways 87 

IV.  CONTROL  OF  FIRES. 

Early  Detection  of  Fires.  Interior  Alarms.  Extinguishing  of  Fires. 
Water  Buckets.  Chemical  Extinguishers.  Stand-pipe  and  Hose. 

Automatic  Sprinklers.     Control  of  Fires 100 

V.  Loss  OF  LIFE  IN  INDUSTRIAL  FIRES: 

Difficulty  of  Estimate.  Prevention  of  Overcrowding  and  Congestion. 
Egress  Facilities  from  Floor.  Windows.  Doors.  Aisles.  Egress 
from  Building.  Fire  Wall.  Stairs.  Insufficiency  and  Inadequacy  of 
Stairs, .  .Fire  .  Escapes.  Old  .and  .Modern.,  Panics.  .Causes.  Pre- 
vention. Fire  Drills . .  107 


CONTENTS  ix 

\       .       CHAPTER  IV 

FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 

I.  EXTENT  AND  DANGERS: 

The  Problem  of  Industrial  Accidents.  The  Number  of  Accidents  in 
United  States  and  European  Countries.  Report  of  the  Parliamentary 
Committee  on  Accidents  in  Great  Britain.  German  Statistics  of 
Accidents.  Austrian  Accident  Statistics.  Social  Loss  Involved. 
Attempts  at  the  Solution  of  the  Problem  in  European  Countries.  The 
Accident  Insurance  Law  in  Germany.  Interest  in  the  Subject  in  this 
Country.  Decrease  of  Accidents  Due  to  Efforts  of  Private  Corpora- 
tions    129 

II.  THE  PERSONAL  FACTOR  IN  ACCIDENT  CAUSATION  AND  PREVENTION: 
Definition  of  "  Accident."  Classification  of  Causes  of  Accidents.  The 
Role  of  the  Worker  in  Accidents.  Age  as  a  Factor  in  Causation  of 
Accidents.  Sex  in  Relation  to  Accidents.  Ignorance  of  Workers  in 
Relation  to  Accidents.  Testimony  on  this  from  the  British  Reports. 
From  the  Report  of  the  N.  Y.  State  Factory  Commission.  Physical 
Unfitness  as  a  Cause  of  Accidents.  The  Role  of  Carelessness  in  the 
Causation  of  Accidents.  German  Statistics  on  this  Subject.  Report  of 
the  English  Parliamentary  Committee  on  Accidents.  Refusal  of  Work- 
ers^to  Use  Safeguards.  Accidents  in  Cleaning  Machinery.  Persojaal 
Care  of  the  Employe.  Prohibition  of  the  Participation  of  Children  4 
in  Industry  as  a  Remedy  for  the  Prevention  of  Acsidents.  LimitationJL_>  • 
and  Restriction  of  Woman's  Work.  Prevention  of  Accidents  Due  to 
Ignorance.  Continuation  Schools.  Instruction,  etc.  Medical  Exam- 
ination of  Employes  as  a  Prevention  of  Accidents.  Rigid  Supervision 
and  Inspection.  Proper  Clothing,  Dressing  of  Hair,  Gloves,  Shoes,  etc. 
Eye  Injuries.  Number  of  Accidents.  Prevention  of  These  Accidents 
by  Wearing  Proper  Eye-Glasses 138 

III.  THE  GENERAL  CAUSES  OF  ACCIDENTS  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION: 
Defective    Materials,    Tools    and  Appliances.     Weights   and    Falling 
Objects.     Defective  Stairs,   Platforms,   Ladders,   etc.     Overcrowding. 
Accidents  Due  to  Monotony  of  Work.     To  Fatigue.     To  Speeding. 
To  Prolonged  Hours  of  Labor.     Shortening  of  Hours  of  Labor  Accord-, 
ing  to  thfe-Conditions  in  the  Industry 156 

IV.  PREVENTION  OF  ACCIDENTS  DUE  TO  TRANSPORTATION  WITHIN  THE 

FACTORY: 

Transportation  within  the  Factory.  Prevention  of  Accidents  Due  to 
Transportation.  Prevention  of  Accidents  Due  to  Conveyors,  Cranes, 
Winches,  Tackle,  etc.  Hoistways  and  Elevators.  Construction  of 
Cage,  Shaft,  Door,  Cables,  etc.  The  Importance  of  the  Operator. 

Safety  Devices  on  Elevators  and  Hoistways 166 

V.     THE   PREVENTION   OF   ACCIDENTS    DUE   TO    MOTIVE   POWER   AND 

TRANSMISSION  APPARATA. 

Machinery  and  Accidents.  The  Role  of  Mechanical  Production  in  the 
Causation  of  Industrial  Accidents.  General  Principles  of  Accident 


X  CONTENTS 

Prevention  and  Safeguarding  of  Machinery.  Motors  and  Flywheels. 
Gears,  Set  Screws,  Driving  Belts,  Ropes,  etc.  Shafts  and  Their 
Safeguarding.  Collars,  Couplings  and  Screws.  Belts,  Chains,  Ropes 

and  Pulleys.    Cleaning  and  Oiling  of  Machines,  etc 177 

VI.  MACHINERY: 

Hammers,  Presses  and  Punches.  Their  Dangers  and  Safeguards. 
Rolls,  Calenders,  etc.  Grinders.  Mixers.  Centrifugal  Machines. 

Emery  Wheels.     Grindstones.     Polishers  and  Buffers.     Saws 193 

VII.  GENERAL  METHODS  OF  ACCIDENT  PREVENTION  IN  SPECIAL  INDUSTRIES: 
Accidents  in  Different  Industries.  The  Metal  Industry.  Number  of 
Accidents.  Foundries.  Burns.  The  Wood  Industry.  Jointers  and 
Their  Safeguarding.  The  Chemical  Industry.  Number  of  Accidents. 
Prevention  of  Accidents  Due  to  Unguarded  Vats,  Pans  and  Caldrons. 
The  Textile  Industry.  Note  of  Agreement  between  British  Employers, 
Operators  and  Inspectors  Concerning  Safeguards  in  Cotton  Weaving 
Factories. .  .212 


CHAPTER  V 
LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES 

The  Importance  of  Light  in  Factories.  Inadequate  Light  in  American 
and  European  Factories.  The  Relation  of  Factory  Lighting  to  Clean- 
liness of  Shop.  Light  and  Efficiency  Production.  Relation  of  Adequate 
Light  to  Accident  Prevention.  Eye  Strain,  Eye  Diseases  and  General 
Impairment  of  the  Health  of  the  Workers.  What  is  Adequate  and 
Proper  Light?  Quantity  and  Intensity  of  Light.  Surface  Brightness. 
Definition  of  a  "  Foot-Candle."  German  and  Other  European  Stand- 
ards on  Light.  Definition  of  "  Glare."  Prevention  of  Glare.  Daylight. 
The  Factors  upon  which  It  Depends.  Standards  Adopted  in  Different 
Countries.  The  Importance  of  the  Window  and  Its  Proper  Construc- 
tion. Artificial  Illumination.  Requirements  for  Efficient  Illumina- 
tion. Color.  Uniformity.  Products  of  Combustion.  Sources  of 
Artificial  Illumination.  General  Illumination.  Localized  Illumina- 
tion. Localized-general  Illumination/  Tungsten  Lamps.  Reflectors. 
Standards  of  the  Wisconsin  Industrial  Commission 232 


V  ./ 

*  ca 


[AFTER    VI 
FACTORY  SANITATION 

Classification  of  Factory  Sanitation.  General  Cleanliness.  Water 
Supply  for  Drinking  Purposes.  Washing  Facilities.  Dressing-rooms. 
Bathing  Facilities.  Plumbing  and  Plumbing  Fixtures.  Toilet  Accom- 
modations. Lunch-rooms.  Sewage  Disposal.  Noises,  Odors,  Smoke, 
Gases  and  Fumes.  Disposal  of  Factory  Wastes 259 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER    VII 
EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK 

I.  EXTENT,  DEFINITION,  ETC.: 

Confusion  in  the  Conception  of  Welfare  Work.  Limitation  of  the 
Term.  Definition  of  the  Term.  Motives.  Opposition  on  the  Part 
of  Employers.  Opposition  on  the  Part  of  Workers.  Reasons  for  Such 
Opposition.  Importance  of  Welfare  Work.  Classification  of  Welfare 

Work 287 

II.  IMPROVING  THE  ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS  OF  THE  WORKERS: 

Security  and  Increase  of  Income.  Tenure  of  Employment.  Mimimum 
Wage.  Profit  Sharing.  Increased  Income  for  Increased  Production. 
Bonuses  and  Premiums.  Premiums  for  Years  of  Service.  Scientific 
Management.  Opposition  to  Scientific  Management  from  Workers. 
From  Sociologists.  Reduction  of  Cost  of  Living.  Cooperation  in  Ad- 
ministration. Suggestion  Systems.  Shop  Committees.  Accident  and 

Sickness  Insurance.     Old  Age  Pensions 296 

III.  IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  PHYSICAL,  INTELLECTUAL  AND  SOCIAL  STATUS 

OF  THE  WORKERS: 

Lessening  of  the  Dangers  of  Work.  Pauses.  Vacations.  Improved 
Food  and  Diet.  Inspection  of  Food  Articles.  Improvement  of  Work- 
ing Conditions.  Washing,  Dressing  and  Bathing  Facilities.  Recrea- 
tion. The  Care  of  Health.  Rest  and  Emergency  Rooms.  First  Aid 
Facilities.  Dispensaries  and  Hospitals.  Nursing  Staff.  General 
Medical  Care  and  Supervision.  Educational  Work.  Libraries.  Ap- 
prenticeship Schools.  General  Educational  Activities.  Housing  and 
Garden  Cities . .  . 314 


CHAPTER  VIII 

AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES 

I.  CONFINED  Am: 

Importance  of  the  Problem  of  Ventilation.  The  Composition  of 
Normal  Air.  Chemical  and  Physical  Changes  in  Confined  Air  of 
Rooms.  Diminution  of  Oxygen.  Increase  of  Carbonic  Acid.  In- 
fluence of  Diminution  of  Oxygen.  Influence  of  Excessive  Carbonic  Acid. 
Presence  of  Organic  Matter  and  Its  Influence.  Infectious  Bacteria. 
Dust,  Gases  and  Fumes.  Temperature  and  Humidity.  Definition 
of  Absolute  and  Relative  Humidity.  Sources  of  Temperature  and 
Humidity.  Physiological  Effects  of  High  Temperature  and  of  Relative 
Humidity.  Opinion  of  Haldane.  Opinions  of  Pembrey  and  Collis. 
Opinion  of  Professor  C.-E.  A.  Winslow.  F.  C.  Lee.  Summary 347 


xii  CONTENTS 

II.  PRINCIPLES  AND  METHODS  OF  VENTILATION: 

Definition  of  Ventilation.  Spontaneous  Ventilation.  Quantity  of 
Air  Needed.  Legal  and  Other  Standards.  Rate  of  Change.  Porosity 
of  Walls,  etc.  The  Role  of  Windows  in  Ventilation.  The  Role  of 
Doors  in  Ventilation.  Special  Openings  Made  for  Ventilation.  Spe- 
cial Tubes,  Shafts  and  Openings 364 

III.  MECHANICAL  VENTILATION: 

Definition.  Action  of  Wind  in  Ventilation.  Action  of  Heat.  Chim- 
neys. Methods  of  Mechanical  Ventilation.  The  Three  Methods  of 
Mechanical  Ventilation.  The  Vacuum  System  of  Ventilation.  General 
and  Local.  The  Plenum  System  of  Ventilation.  Motive  Power. 
Types  of  Fans.  Action  of  Fans.  Washing  and  Filtering  of  Air. 
Artificial  Humidification 374 

IV.  EXAMINATION  AND  TESTING  OF  AIR: 

Testing  of  Relative  Humidity.  The  Sling  Psychrometer.  Humidity 
Table.  Tests  for  Carbonic  Acid.  Pettenkofer's  Test.  Wolpert's  Test. 
Lunge-Zeckendorf  Test.  The  Peterson  and  Palmquist  Test 384 

CHAPTER  IX 
INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES 

I.  DUST  AND  ITS  EFFECT  ON  HEALTH: 

Extent  and  Character  of  Industrial  Dusts.  The  Effect  of  Industrial 
Dusts  upon  Workers.  Physiological  Defenses  of  the  Body.  Resume 
of  the  Effects  of  Industrial  Dusts.  Dust  and  Disease.  Dust  and 

Tuberculosis.     Dust  and  Mortality 392 

II.  DUSTY  TRADES: 

THE     METAL    TRADES.     Foundry    Workers.     Metal    Grinders     and 
Polishers.     MINERAL  TRADES.     Stone-workers.     Workers  with  Silica. 
VEGETABLE  DUSTS.     Cotton-workers.     ANIMAL  DUSTS.     Fur-workers.  411 
III.  PREVENTION  AND  PROTECTION: 

PREVENTION  OF  DUST  FORMATION.  The  Wet  Process.  The  Auto- 
matic Process.  ISOLATION  AND  SEPARATION  OF  DUSTY  PROCESSES. 
REMOVAL  OF  DUST.  Kind  of  Dust.  The  Hoods.  The  Branch  Pipes 
and  Ducts.  The  Main  Pipe  or  Duct.  The  Fans.  The  Motive 
Power.  The  Disposal  of  Dust.  PROTECTION  OF  WORKERS.  Cleanli- 
ness of  Shop.  Proper  Clothing.  Washing  and  Bathing.  Respirators. 
Change  of  Work.  Medical  Examination.  Medical  Supervision. 
Education 420 

CHAPTER  X 
INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES 

I.  THE  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  AND  THEIR  EFFECTS: 
Extent    of    Dangers.     Classification.     Harmful    Substances    and    the 
Industries  in  which  They  Occur.     Effect  and  Results  of  Industrial 
Poisons.     Effect    and    Symptoms    of    Lead    Poisoning.     Effect    and 


CONTENTS  xiii 

Symptoms  of  Arsenical  Poisoning.  Effect  and  Symptoms  of  Mercu- 
rial Poisoning.  Effect  and  Symptoms  of  Phosphorus  Poisoning. 
Effect  and  Symptoms  of  Chrome  Poisoning.  Effects  of  Various  Gases, 
Fumes,  Acids  and  Alkalies 438 

II.  SOME  OF  THE  DANGEROUS  TRADES: 

The  Dangerous  Lead  Trades.  Manufacture  of  White  Lead.  Other 
Lead  Trades.  Batteries,  etc.  The  Painting  Trade.  The  Printing 
Trade.  Trades  in  which  Workers  are  Exposed  to  Arsenical  Poisoning. 
Mercury.  Phosphorus  Poisoning.  The  Manufacture  of  Commercial 

Acids.     Manufacture  of  Alkalies.     Bleach  Works 450 

III.  PREVENTION  AND  PROTECTION: 

The  Problem  of  Preventing  Occupational  Diseases .  : 470 

Legislative  Protection: 

Investigation.  Notification.  Inspection.  Special  Rules.  Licensing. 
Special  Prohibitions 471 

Social  Protection: 

Hours  of  Labor.  Industrial  Control.  Workmen's  Compensation. 
Sickness  and  Social  Insurance 475 

Industrial  Protection: 

Prohibition  and  Substitution  of  Harmless  Materials  for  Dangerous 
Ones.  Wet  and  Automatic  Processes.  Removal  of  Dust,  Gases  and 
Fumes.  Sanitary  Prevention  and  Protection 478 

Medical  Protection: 

Personal  Hygiene.     First  Aid.     Medical  Supervision. .,,,,,,,,,,,..  483 


CHAPTER  XI 
FACTORY  LEGISLATION 

I.  GROWTH  AND  TENDENCIES  OF  FACTORY  LEGISLATION: 
Early  Factory  Legislation  in  Europe.     Early  Factory  Legislation  in 

the  United  States.     Factory  Legislation  Standards 486 

II.  REGISTRATION  AND  AUTHORIZATION  OF  INDUSTRIAL  ESTABLISHMENTS: 
Registration  in  the  United  States.  Authorization  and  Licensing  of 
Trades  in  England,  Austria,  Belgium  and  Switzerland 49  i 

III.  CONSTRUCTION,  FIRE  PROTECTION  AND  ACCIDENT  PREVENTION: 
The  Laws  on  Fire  Protection  in  Germany,  France,  England,  London, 
New  York  State 497 

IV.  LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  AND  VENTILATION  AND  HEATING: 
Standards  for  Light  and  Ventilation  in  European  Countries.     In  the 
United    States.     Ventilation    and    Heating    Standards    in    European 
Countries  and  the  United  States.     General  Orders  on  Ventilation  and 
Heating  in  Wisconsin 504 

V.  SANITARY  CARE  AND  COMFORTS: 

Standards  in  European  Countries  and  the  United  States  as  to  Clean- 
liness, Cuspidors,  Washing  Facilities  and  Dressing-rooms,  Drinking 
Water.  Toilets,  Lunch-rooms,  Medical  Applicances.  Orders  of 
Industrial  Commission  of  Wisconsin  on  Sanitation 508 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XII 
FACTORY  INSPECTION 

The  Beginning  of  Factory  Inspection  in  Europe  and  the  United  States. 
Factory  Inspection  in  the  United  States.  The  Scope  of  the  Work  of 
Factory  Inspection.  Organization.  Specialization.  Methods  of  Selec- 
tion and  Character  of  Factory  Inspectors.  Factory  Inspectors  in 
Europe.  Salaries  and  Compensation.  Methods  of  Supervision  and 

Inspection 514 

Civil  Service  Examinations  for  Factory  Inspectors  in  England,  France, 
Germany  and  New  York  State.  Subjects  for  Examinations.  Syllabus 
of  Subjects.  Civil  Service  Examinations  and  Questions 543 

APPENDICES 

I.  Selected  Bibliography  on  Subjects  covered  in  the  Book 553 

II.  A  List  of  the  Most  Important  Investigating  Commissions  in  England 

and  the  United  States 555 

III.  Instructions  on  Fire  Drills  by  the  National  Fire  Underwriters'  Asso- 
ciation    559 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


vUMBER  PAGE 

1.  A  Medieval  Bake-shop 8 

2.  Dyeing  and  Spinning  Wool  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 10 

3.  The  Master  Shoemaker  and  His  Journeymen — Sixteenth  Century 12 

4.  A  Printing  Shop  in  the  Sixteenth  Century 14 

5.  Making  Hats  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 16 

6.  Crompton's  Mule-Jenny 18 

7.  Hargreave's  Spinning-Jenny 19 

8.  Arkwright's  Spinning  Machine 20 

9.  Mule  Spinning  about  1830 23 

10.  A  Cotton  Factory,  Carding-room,  in  1830 26 

11.  A  Cotton  Factory,  Weaving-room,  in  1830 28 

12.  An  Early  American  Factory,  in  1828 40 

13.  An  English  Cotton  Factory — about  1830 41 

14.  A  Home  Work  Shop— Picking  Nuts  for  the  Trade 43 

15.  A  Home  Work  Shop — Wrapping  Candy  in  a  New  York  Tenement. ..  .  45 

16.  A  Rag  Shop : 47 

17.  A  Cellar  Bakery 49 

18.  Conditions  in  a  Cellar  Bakery 51 

19.  A  Cloak  and  Suit  Shop— East  Side,  New  York  City 52 

20.  A  Modern  Loft  Building 55 

21.  Entrance  to  Kodak  Park  Works 58 

22.  The  Adler  Clothing  Factory  at  Rochester 61 

23.  The  Hammerbrot  Werk 63 

24.  A  Modern  Factory 65 

25.  Factory  of  the  United  Shoe  Machinery  Company 68 

26.  The  Beyer  Chemical  Company 70 

27.  Finishing-room  in  a  Knitting  Mill 77 

28.  Obstructed  Exits  from  the  Fire-escape 81 

29.  Fire  Escape  Balconies  without  Connecting  Ladders 85 

30.  Drop  Ladder  Missing  on  Shop  Building 88 

31.  A  Dangerous  Type  of  Stairway 94 

32.  Automatic  Vertical  Fire  Door 97 

33.  Stairway  Adjacent  to  Elevator  Wall 99 

34.  Chemical  Fire  Extinguisher 103 

35.  Sanitary  Fire  Bucket 104 

35.  Safety  Fire  Bucket  Tank 104 

36.  Sprinkler  Heads. 106 

37.  Graphic  Chart  Showing  the  Number  of  Persons  Working  above  the 

Sixth  Floor, 108 

xv 


xvi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


38.  Metal  Boxes  for  Clippings  and  Waste 110 

39.  Window  to  Fire-escape  Barred Ill 

40.  A  Bi-sectional  Building 113 

41.  Stairway  Congestion 117 

42.  Capacity  of  Different  Types  of  Fire-escapes 119 

43.  Standard  Double  Run  Fire  escape 121 

44.  Tower  Plan  with  Outside  Balcony  Entrance 123 

45.  Standard  Single  Strainght  Run  Fire-escape 124 

46.  Philadelphia  Tower  Fire  escape 125 

47.  Emergency  Exit  and  Fire  Wall 127 

48.  Narrow  Aisles  between  Machines 130 

49.  Live  Roll  Gears  Unprotected 135 

50.  Unguarded  Opening  to  Elevator 137 

51.  Open  Caustic  Pot  without  Rail  or  Guard 139- 

52.  Unprotected  Transmission  Belt 142 

53.  Unguarded  Vats  in  a  Wire  Factory, 144 

54.  Chart  of  the  Five  Largest  Groups  of  Accidents 147 

55.  German  Factory  Uniforms 151 

56.  French  Factory  Workers'  Clothes 151 

57.  Face  Mask 152 

58.  Safety  Eye  Glasses 154 

59.  Safety  Eye  Goggles 155 

60.  Ladder  with  Steel  Points 157 

61.  Safety  Oilers'  Ladder 157 

62.  Dangerous  Open  Stairway 15& 

63.  Stairway  Equipped  with  Safety  Tread 159 

64.  Time  Card  of  a  Woman  who  Worked  117*  Hours  in  One  Week 163 

65.  Self-acting  Safety  Catch 167 

66.  Methods  of  Lifting  Barrels  and  Sacks 168 

67.  Overload  Detector 169 

68.  Workers  Carrying  Crucible  of  Molten  Metal 16& 

69.  Tongues  for  Safe  Carrying  of  Crucibles 170 

70.  Safety  Wheelbarrows  for  Carrying  Acids 170 

71.  A  Safe  Method  of  Lifting  Barrels 171 

72.  Hatchway  Safeguarded  with  Half  Automatic  Gate 172 

73.  Elevator  with  Hatch  Covers 173 

74.  Side  Post  Freight  Platform  Enclosed 174 

75.  Full  Automatic  Gate 175 

76.  Semi-automatic  Gate 176 

77.  Guard  in  Front  of  Fly  Wheel 178 

78.  Guards  Protecting  Chain  Drive. 179 

79.  Metal  Guard  Protecting  Reynold's  Chain  Drive 180 

80.  Guards  Covering  Gear  Chains  and  Worm  Drives 181 

81.  Guards  on  Gears  of  Printing  and  Collaring  Machine 182 

82.  Guard  on  Bleach  House  Machine 183 

83.  Protruding  and  Countersunk  Set  Screws 186 

84.  Safety  Collars  for  Set  Screws 186 

85.  Wooden  Guards  for  Belting 188 

86.  Driving  Belt  in  Aisles  Boxed  In 189 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xvii 

NUMBER  pAQE 

87.  Guarded  Countershaft  Used  in  Driving  a  Lathe 189 

88.  Pipe  Railing  around  Rope  Drive 190 

89.  Belt  Shifters , '  . ' '            '  191 

90.  Belt  Placer -...'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.  192 

91.  Punch  Press 193 

92.  Safety  Guard  on  Press 194 

93.  Two-hand  Safety  Device 195 

94.  Plate  Glass  Guard  on  Punch  Press 195 

95.  Guarded  Stamping  Machine 197 

96.  Stamping  Press  Guard 198 

97.  Corner  Cutting  Machine 199 

98.  Calender  Rolls  with  Safety  Clutch 200 

99.  Collar  and  Cuff  Ironer  Guarded 201 

100.  Calender  Hand  Safety  Guard 202 

101.  Metal  Safety  Bar  to  Prevent  Fingers  from  Getting  into  Rolls 202 

102.  Concave  Safety  Collars  for  Emery  Wheels 203 

103.  Cross-section  of  Emery  Wheel 204 

104.  Protected  Grinding  Wheels 205 

105.  Safeguard  on  Grinder 206 

106.  Safeguarded  Broken  Grindstone 207 

107.  Safety  Centrifuge 207 

108.  Splitter  Adjusted  to  Large  Saw 208 

109.  Circular  Saw  Guard 209 

110.  Combination  of  Splitter  with  Wood  Protection 209 

111.  Splitter  Guard  for  Circular  Saw 210 

112.  Circular  Saw  Guard 210 

113.  Wire  Head  Guard 211 

114.  Iron  Safety  Cover  and  Feeder 211 

115.  Guard  on  Tumbling  Barrel 213 

116.  Old  Style  Square  Buzz  Planer 216 

117.  Safety  Cylinder  for  Buzz  Planer ; 216 

118.  Injuries  Done  with  Both 216 

119.  Double  Cut-off  Saw  Guard 217 

120.  Bent  Saw  Guard 218 

121.  Rib  Saw  Guard 219 

122.  German  Finger  Guard 219 

123.  Soap  Vat  with  Safety  Grill— Opened  and  Closed 223 

124.  A  Safeguarded  Roving  Machine 224 

125.  Cotton  Mill  Balling  Machine 225 

126.  A  Spinning  Machine  in  a  Cordage  Factory 226 

127.  Unguarded  Caustic  Pots 227 

128.  Calender  Pulley  and  Nip  Guards 228 

129.  Localized  Illumination  for  Each  Table 236 

130.  Illumination  in  a  Weaving  Room 238 

131.  An  Example  of  Localized  General  Illumination 240 

132.  General  Illumination  from  Gas  Arc  Lamps 241 

133.  Local  Lighting  of  Sewing  Machines 242 

134.  Plan  and  Elevation  Showing  Relative  Positions  of  Lamps  and  Sewing 

Machines 243 


xviii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

NUMBER  PAGE 

135.  Glaring  Light  in  the  Eyes  of  the  Workman 244 

136.  Improved  Illumination  with  Properly  Shaded  Lamp . .  •  245 

137.  Localized  Illumination  at  the  Point  of  the  Needle 246 

138.  Localized  Lighting  of  a  Buffing  Machine  in  a  Shoe  Factory 247 

139.  Localized     General     Illumination    of    Cutters'    Table    in    a    Shoe 

Factory 248 

140.  Localized  General  Illumination 249 

141.  Localized  General  Illumination. 250 

142.  Localized  General  Illumination  for  Sewing  Machine  Operators 251 

143.  Localized  General  Illumination  of  a  Machine  Shop 252 

144.  Local  Lighting  for  Engravers  and  Jewelry  Manufacturing 253 

145.  General  Illumination  in  a  Composing  Room 254 

146.  General  Illumination  for  Hand  Ironers  in  a  Laundry 255 

147.  United  States  Printing  Office 262 

148.  Drinking  Fountains 264 

149.  Bubbling  Valve  Drinking  Fountain 265 

150.  A  Factory  Wash  Sink 267 

151.  Dressing  and  Wash  Room 269 

152.  Wash  Room 270 

153.  Individual  Lockers 272 

154.  Bathroom 273 

155.  Broken  Plumbing 274 

156.  Broken  Fixture 276 

157.  Toilet  in  a  Tenant  Factory 276 

158.  A  Sanitary  Urinal 279 

159.  A  Well  Arranged  Sanitary  Water-closet 280 

160.  Two-way  Cafetaria 306 

161.  One-way  Cafetaria 307 

162.  Rest-room 310 

163.  Swimming  Pool 312 

164.  Bakery  in  Works 316 

165.  Dining-room 318 

166.  Dining  Hall 319 

167.  Dining  Hall 320 

168.  Reading  Room 323 

169.  Reading  Room 324 

170.  Play-ground  and  Swimming  Pool 325 

171.  Tennis  Court 328 

172.  Shooting  Gallery  and  Bowling  Alleys 329 

173.  Dance  Hall 330 

174.  Medical  Chest 332 

175.  First  Aid  Equipment 333 

176.  Emergency  Hospital  Room 335 

177.  Emergency  Hospital  Room 337 

178.  U.  S.  Printing  Office  Emergency  Room 338 

179.  Industrial  School 341 

180.  Houses  for  Employes 343 

181.  Boarding  House  for  Employes 345 

182.  Bleaching  Furs  with  Ammonia 349 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xix 

NUMBER  PAGE 

183.  The  Filter-bag  Wash-room  in  a  Sugar  Refinery 352 

184.  Manufacture  of  Felt  Hats 357 

185.  Casting  Yellow  Brass 360 

186.  Casing-room  in  a  Sausage  Factory .' 363 

187.  Beating-up  Machines  in  a  Hat  Factory 368 

188.  View  of  Forge  and  Hardening  Departments,  Showing  Ventilating  Plant .  370 

189.  First  Process  in  Felt  Hat  Making;  Excessive  Humidity  and  Heat 372 

190.  Factory  Equipped  with  Globe  Ventilators 375 

191.  Base  Fan  Set  in  Top  of  Window 376 

193.  Exhauster  in  Connection  with  System  of  Hoods  and  Piping  for  the 

Removal  of  Dust  from  Emery  Wheels 378 

194.  Exhausting  in  Room 380 

195.  "  Sirocco  "  Fan  Blowing  into  Room 380 

196.  Double  Inlet  "  Sirocco  "  Fan 381 

197.  Steel  Pressure  Blower  in  Foundry 382 

198.  Disk  Fan  in  Laundry 383 

199.  Disk  Fan  in  Engine  Room 383 

200.  Sling  Psychrometer 385 

201.  Paterson-Palmquist  Apparatus 389 

202.  Wallace  and  Tiernan  Pump 391 

203.  Dust  Particles  as  seen  under  the  Microscope 393 

204.  Dust  Particles  of  Silk 394 

205.  Dust  Particles  of  Hemp 394 

206.  Dust  Particles  of  Jute . 395 

207.  Dust  Particles  of  Flax 395 

208.  Dust  Particles  of  Cotton. 396 

209.  Wheat  Dust 396 

210.  Dust  Particles  of  Felt  398 

211.  Dust  Particles  of  Woodworking  Machine 398 

212.  Dust  Particles  of  Bonemeal 398 

213.  Dust  Particles  of  Horsehair 398 

214.  Dust  Particles  of  Carpet 400 

215.  Dust  Particles  of  Horn 400 

216.  Dust  Particles  of  Celluloid 400 

217.  Dust  Particles  of  Mother  of  Pearl ". . . .  400 

218.  Dust  Particles  of  Lead 401 

219.  Dust  Particles  of  Cast-iron  Polishing 401 

220.  Dust  Particles  of  Needle  Polishing 402 

221.  Dust  Particles  of  Brass  Polishing 402 

222.  Dust  Particles  of  Sandblast 403 

223.  Dust  Particles  of  Glass 403 

224.  Dust  Particles  of  Cement 403 

225.  Dust  Particles  of  Granite 403 

226.  Dust  Particles  of  Sandstone 405 

227.  Dust  Particles  of  Limestone 405 

228.  Interior  of  Machine  Room  of  Cordage  Factory 406 

229.  Girl  Worker  in  Preparing  Room  of  Cordage  Factory 408 

230.  Polishing  Shoes — The  well-equipped  Hood  and  Exhaust  System  Fur- 

nishes Practically  Ideal  Protection 412 


xx  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


231.  Workers  in  a  Factory  where  Skins  from  Hares  and  Rabbits  are  Scraped 

off  for  Supplying  Felt  for  Hats .  .  415 

232.  Workers  Carrying  Skins  Treated  with  Nitrate  of  Mercury 418 

233.  Sandblasting  Exterior  of  Car.     Worker  Wears  Respirator 419 

234.  Automatic  Process  of  Manufacturing  Chloride  of  Lime 422 

235.  Local  Exhaust  of  Dye  Dust  in  a  Paper  Factory 424 

'236.  Local  Dust  Exhaust  in  a  Carding  Shop — Textile  Mill 425 

237.  Sandblasting  Casting  in  Open  Shed 428 

238.  Packer  of  Bleach  or  Chloride  of  Lime — Wearing  Several  Thicknesses 

of  White  Flannel  over  his  Mouth 432 

239.  Automatic  Rubber  Respirator , 435 

240.  Removing  Lead  from  Oven  into  Metal  Pan 446 

241.  Types  of  Wrist-drop  among  Hungarian  Potters 448 

:242.  Stripping  the  Corroding  Beds  in  a  White  Lead  Factory 451 

:243.  An  Unprotected  Worker  Stripping  the  Corroding  Beds 452 

244.  Unsuccessful  Attempts  by  Workers  to  Protect  Themselves  against 

Poisonous  Dust 454 

245.  Filling  Barrels  with  Litharge 455 

246.  Lead  Refining 456 

247.  Lead  Oxidizing  Furnace 458 

248.  Lead  Working  in  the  Manufacture  of  Storage  Batteries 459 

249.  Paris  Green  Factory — Automatic  Packing  Machine 461 

250.  Putting  Paris  Green  into  the  Bolter 463 

251.  Filling  a  Barrel  with  Paris  Green 464 

252.  Exposure  to  Fumes  of  Cyanide  of  Potassium 466 

253.  The  Muzzles  and  Costumes  Worn  by  Bleach  Workers 469 

254.  Lead  Fumes  in  a  Lead  Smelting  Shop,  Properly  Carried  away 473 

255.  A  Linotype  Room  in  a  Newspaper 477 

256.  Removal  of  Fumes  in  an  Electro-plating  Shop 481 

257.  Removal  of  Fumes  in  an  Electro-plating  Shop 482 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE 

Industrial  Evolution.  The  world  is  a  huge  workshop, — a  scene 
of  intense  industrial  activity  for  the  satisfaction  of  human  needs. 
And  so  it  was  from  time  immemorial.  For  industry  is  as  old  as 
the  human  race.  Perhaps  older.  In  the  vast  maze  of  antiquity, 
ages  before  any  recorded  events,  there  must  have  existed  immense 
industrial  activity  among  prehistoric  peoples, — activities  of  which 
at  present  we  gain  only  a  faint  conception  from  the  few  records 
that  remain,  but  which  left  their  strong  impress  upon  those  ages 
and  constituted  the  germ  from  which  our  industrial  system  has 
evolved. 

Industry  being  so  necessary  and  so  constant  a  factor  in  the 
life  of  man  and  in  the  development  of  the  race,  the  methods  of 
economic  production  and  the  stages  of  industrial  evolution  may 
therefore  be  viewed  as  the  basis  of  the  progressive  development 
and  history  of  civilization. 

Viewed  in  this  light  industrial  production  has,  roughly  speak- 
ing, passed  through  three  stages  of  development.  Each  of  these 
stages  may  be  characterized  by  the  prevailing  method  of  indus- 
trial production.  These  three  methods  are  domestic  production, 
handicraft  production  and  the  modern  factory  system. 

"  Domestic  production  is  production  in  and  for  the  house  from 
raw  materials  furnished  by  the  household  itself.  In  its  purest 
form  it  presupposes  the  absence  of  exchange  and  the  ability  of 
each  household  to  satisfy  by  its  own  labor  the  wants  of  its  mem- 
bers. All  that  it  has,  it  owes  to  its  own  labor,  and  it  is  scarcely 


MODERN  FACTORY 


possible  to  separate  the  operations  of  the  household  from  those  of 
production."  * 

Handicraft  production  is  that  carried  on  within  or  outside  of 
the  house,  usually  by  free  workers,  and  is  characterized  by  what 
we  call  "  custom  production."  "  The  handicraft  man  always 
works  for  the  consumer  of  his  product;  the  region  of  the  sale  is  local, 
namely,  the  town  and  its  immediate  neighborhood.  .  .  .  When- 
ever one  line  of  handicraft  threatens  to  become  too  large,  other 
new  handicrafts  split  from  it."  f 

The  modern  factory  system  presents  an  entirely  different  method  of 
production.  By  this  system  the  economic  wants  of  large  com- 
munities, groups  of  persons  and  whole  nations  are  satisfied  by 
wholesale  production  on  a  large  scale  in  specially  constructed  plants 
by  means  of  so-called  free  wage  labor  and  by  the  help  of  machinery 
and  motive  power. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  this  classification  of  the 
stages  of  industrial  evolution  simply  indicates  the  prevailing  method 
of  .production.  At  no  time  did  one  method  exist  to  the  exclusion 
of  .all  others.  To-day  there  exist  side  by  side  important  variations 
from  the  prevailing  factory  system;  domestic  production  in  many 
peasant  communities;  handicraft  and  house  industries  even  in 
advanced  industrial  centers.  "  No  single  element  of  culture  that 
has  once  entered  into  the  life  of  man  is  lost.  Even  after  the  hour 
of  its  predominance  has  expired,  it  continues  in  some  more  modest 
position  to  co-operate  in  the  realization  of  that  great  end  in  which 
we  all  believe,  the  helping  of  mankind  towards  more  and  more 
perfect  forms  of  existence."  } 

Whatever  the  system  of  production,  the  industrial  factor  is  the 
predominating  one.  Its  paramount  influence  is  impressed  upon  all 
the  forms  of  human  progress,  and  upon  it  moral,  religious  and 
intellectual  evolution  is  necessarily  based. 

Many  of  the  forms  of  industrial  activity  depend  upon  climatic 
conditions,  upon  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  upon  the  character  of 
the  physical  surroundings  which  determine  the  modes  of  procuring 
food  and  the  manufacture  of  the  necessities  of  life. 

The  place  of  work  itself  is  of  great  importance  in  all  stages  of 
industrial  evolution.  The  character  of  the  workplace  naturally 
differs  with  the  stages  of  industrial  development  and  depends  upon 
many  factors,  not  the  least  of  which  are  (1)  the  general  progress  in 

*  Buecher,  Industrial  Evolution,  p.  155. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  170. 
J  Ibid.,  p.  184. 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE      3 

housing  conditions  and  (2)  the  stage  of  industrial  production  itself. 
In  the  domestic  system  of  production,  for  instance,  the  workplace 
is  within  the  house,  usually  not  separated  from  the  general  living 
quarters.  Certain  forms  of  activity  must  be  carried  on  within 
the  house,  others  may  be  performed  outside  of  the  house,  especially 
where  climate  permits.  The  construction  and  internal  arrange- 
ment of  the  workplace  will  depend  upon  the  state  of  housing  progress., 

Industry,  the  Workplace  and  Their  Influence  in  Ancient  Times. 
From  what  is  known  of  Egyptian  civilization,  it  is  evident  that 
there  was  a  high  state  of  industrial  organization  during  the  periods 
of  which  we  have  historical  traces.  That  Egyptian  industry  was 
founded  on  slave  labor  is  evident  not  only  from  the  monuments 
remaining  but  also  from  the  biblical  stories  of  Genesis  which  show 
that  the  ruling  class  made  their  slaves  do  most  of  the  work.  The 
hard  labor  imposed  upon  the  slaves  led  to  frequent  revolts,  a  number 
of  which  are  mentioned  in  very  early  days  and  the  greatest  of  which 
is  described  in  the  story  of  the  Exodus  of  the  Hebrews. 

Little  is  known  of  the  character  of  the  workshops  in  Egypt. 
The  fine  pottery  and  utensils,  some  forms  of  which  are  still  found 
in  archaeological  excavations,  show  that  there  was  much  domestic 
and  handicraft  production  which  must  have  been  carried  on  in 
special  places,  for  the  most  part  out  of  doors,  owing  to  the  climatic 
conditions  of  the  country. 

The  wages  of  the  workers  were  almost  always  paid  in  kind — 
in  wheat,  oil  or  wine.  The  foremen  or  taskmasters  had  for  their 
emblem  a  whip.  The  Egyptian  proverb  ran,  "  Man  has  a  back 
and  will  not  obey  until  it  is  beaten."  It  was  the  whip  that  built 
the  pyramids,  dug  the  canals  and  carried  through  most  of  the 
monumental  works,  which  remain  until  to-day  in  Egypt.  The 
workers  considered  it  a  necessary  evil;  from  Pharaoh's  minister 
down  to  the  lowest  of  the  slaves,  none  might  escape  it.  The  man 
who  had  never  in  all  his  life  been  beaten  was  considered  as  honor- 
able as  if  he  had  obtained  a  decoration  or  special  favor  from  the 
king. 

In  the  working  districts  of  Egyptian  cities  each  shop  was  separate 
from  the  rest  of  the  house  and  was  rented  separately.  It  was  a 
small  square  room,  often  only  a  niche,  open  to  the  street,  closed  at 
night  with  wooden  shutters.  A  typical  shop  would  be  furnished 
with  one  or  two  mats,  low  tabourettes  and  shelves.  Sometimes 
behind  the  shops  were  small  rooms  kept  locked  for  precious 
wares. 


4  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  merchants  were  also  artisans;  employed  apprentices  and 
worked  themselves  between  the  intervals  of  making  sales.  There 
are  many  bas-reliefs  and  ancient  paintings  which  show  the  workers 
employed  at  their  different  crafts,  from  the  shoemaker  to  the 
goldsmith.* 

Industry  in  early  Greece  was  carried  on  by  free  men,  and  only 
later  was  it  given  over  to  slaves.  "  In  the  days  of  Homer  and 
Hesiod  work  was  considered  not  only  necessary  but  honorable. 
Manual  labor,  in  the  time  of  Homer,  was  the  employment  of 
princes  and  nobles  and  it  was  an  honor  to  be  a  good  worker.  For 
cattle  raising,  agriculture  and  manufacture  only  the  greatest  respect 
and  admiration  were  expressed.  These  vocations  were  preservers 
of  life,  and  their  best  form  was  as  yet  too  new  and  attractive  to  be 
regarded  with  indifference  and  contempt."  t 

The  gods  themselves  set  the  mortals  an  example  of  industry. 
Hephaestus  was  a  smith  and  served  all  the  gods  on  Olympus;  he 
made  the  arms  of  Achilles  and  the  door  for  Hera's  room.  Athena 
wove  her  own  peplum.  Paris  built  his  own  house.  Ulysses,  before 
leaving  Ithaca,  made  a  wonderful  bed  adorned  with  silver  and  ivory. 

After  the  Doric  invasions,  with  the  multiplication  of  slaves 
as  the  result  of  military  conquest,  work  came  to  be  considered  shame- 
ful. According  to  the  philosophers,  the  ideal  life  was  lived  without 
labor  and  spent  in  contemplation  or  service  to  the  state.  As  most 
of  the  labor  was  done  by  slaves,  handworkers  were  in  the  lowest 
grade,  because,  according  to  the  accepted  ideas  of  the  time,  "  trade 
dulled  the  spirit  and  body  and  left  no  time  to  fulfil  the  duties  of 
citizenship."  Herodotus  also  remarks  that  "  traders  are  hated  by 
the  Egyptians,  Thracians,  Scythians  and  Persians;  "  that  he  regards 
"  handworkers  as  next  to  slaves  if  not  below  them,  since  while  the 
slaves  served  one  master,  the  handworkers  served  many."  In 
spite  of  the  large  number  of  slaves,  many  hand-workers  still  existed 
who  by  the  Solonic  law  were  given  the  right  to  organize  and 
form  guilds  and  other  organizations,  most  of  them  secret  and  some 
of  them  having  large  political  interests. 

There  is  little  data  on  the  character  of  the  workplace  in  Greece. 
There  seems  to  have  been  small  interest  in  this  matter  and  only 
casual  references  to  it  are  found.  A  leather  workshop  with  nine 
or  ten  slave  workers  is  mentioned  by  ^Eschines.  The  father  of 
Demosthenes  was  the  owner  of  a  large  knife  workshop  in  which 

*  Maspero,  G.,  Au  temps  de  Ramses  et  Assourbanipal. 
t  Keller,  Homeric  Society,  p.  85. 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE       5 

thirty  slaves  were  employed.  The  orator  Lysias  and  his  brother 
had,  at  the  Piraeus,  a  shield  workshop  with  one  hundred  and  twenty 
slaves  as  workers. 

The  construction  of  Greek  workshops,  like  their  dwellings, 
was  simple,  and  suitable  to  an  air-loving  people.  The  rooms  faced 
open  courts  or  peristyles  with  blank  walls  outside.  Houses  were  of 
one  story;  windows  were  absent;  the  doors  opened  on  narrow  streets. 
The  workshops  were  open  to  all  passersby.  In  cold  weather  many 
citizens  entered  to  warm  themselves  at  the  craftsman's  forge. 
Sometimes  in  the  smithy  the  poor  would  sleep  all  night.  The  Greek 
craftsmen  worked  naked,  and  employers  mingled  with  their  workers 
and  busied  themselves  with  the  same  tasks. 

That  many  of  the  Greek  philosophers  and  physicians  recognized 
the  influence  of  industry  and  the  workshop  upon  health  is  certain, 
although  their  references  to  it  are  few  and  scattered.  Aristotle 
mentions  the  diseases  of  the  "  runners "  and  prescribed  certain 
diet  for  gladiators.  Hippocrates  remarks:  "  There  are  many  handi- 
crafts and  arts  which  cause  those  who  exercise  them  certain  pains 
and  plagues."  He  speaks  of  the  specific  diseases  of  miners  and 
burden  carriers,  of  gardeners,  riders,  etc. 

Plato  considered  philosophy  unfit  for  those  "  whose  bodies  are 
not  only  deformed  by  their  arts  and  handicrafts,  but  whose  souls 
are  also  in  like  manner  confused  and  crushed  by  their  life  of  labor. 
What  sort  of  race  must  such  as  these  produce?  Must  it  not  be 
bastardly  and  abject?  " 

Little  attention  was  paid  to  the  influence  of  labor  on  health  for 
the  reason  that  the  lives  of  the  slaves  were  of  no  great  considera- 
tion. Indeed,  the  increase  in  the  number  of  slaves  became  an 
important  state  problem  which  the  Spartans,  for  instance,  tried  to 
solve  by  exercising  their  youths  in  the  art  of  killing  off  and  slaugh- 
tering the  innocent  helots. 

In  Rome  associations  of  free  wage-workers  existed  from  the  earliest 
times.  Mommsen  states  that  there  were  eight  guilds  of  craftsmen 
in  Rome  under  Numa  Pompilius,  one  of  the  first  rulers  of  whom 
we  have  an  account.  They  were  the  following: — flute-blowers, 
coppersmiths,  fullers,  potters,  goldsmiths,  dyers,  carpenters  and 
shoemakers.  Mommsen  adds,  however,  that  there  is  no  aspect 
of  the  life  of  the  Roman  people  respecting  which  information  is 
so  scant  as  that  of  the  Roman  trades. 

Later  the  law  of  Constantine  gives  thirty-five  guilds  existing 
at  one  time,  including  associations  of  builders,  fishermen,  gold- work- 


6  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

ers,  fullers,  armorers,  cooks  and  waiters,  basket-makers,  weavers 
and  clothing  makers.  These  handicraft  workers  were  all  free. 
The  inscriptions  found  among  the  ruins  of  Pompeii  show  that 
these  organizations  were  much  interested  in  politics  and  took  part 
in  the  local  elections.  Little  is  known  of  the  lives  of  these  ancient 
workers.  Those  who  belonged  to  the  guilds  undoubtedly  had  certain 
privileges  and  comparatively  secure  positions,  but  much  of  the 
lower  kind  of  work  was  done  by  slaves  and  hirelings.  T.  Pampa, 
quoted  by  Buecher,  enumerates  one  hundred  and  forty-six  differ- 
ent designations  for  the  functions  of  slave  laborers  as  well  as  for 
the  free  handworkers.  These  early  craftsmen  lived  in  special 
quarters  in  the  city,  and  many  of  the  streets  were  named  after  the 
industries  carried  on  in  them. 

The  Roman  workshops,  even  the  largest,  were  situated  within 
the  houses  belonging  to  the  rich  or  in  shops  located  in  the  poorer 
quarters.  "  With  scarcely  an  exception,  all  houses  of  Pompeii 
were  only  one  story  in  height.  All  the  rooms  were  therefore  on  the 
ground  floor;  they  all  faced  inwards  and  were  lighted  from  the 
court  or  atrium  and  not  from  the  outside.  For  with  a  people  who 
had  no  glass  with  which  to  close  their  windows,  it  was  impossible 
to  enjoy  security  without  excluding  light  and  air,  otherwise  than 
by  lighting  rooms  from  the  interior."  * 

In  most  instances  the  outside  of  the  better  class  of  houses  was 
given  over  to  shops  and  smaller  workplaces  which  opened  on  the 
streets,  while  residences  were  wholly  hidden  from  view  by  them. 
Rome  contained  a  dense  population  and  the  shops  in  the  poor 
quarters  must  have  been  small,  dark  and  unsanitary.  A  great  num- 
ber of  slaves  were  not  housed  at  all,  but  spent  their  miserable  lives 
in  mines,  on  the  galleys,  in  the  cellars,  or  were  exposed  to  the  vicis- 
situdes of  the  climate.  Thus,  we  find  that  an  ancient  tribune 
speaks  of  the  Roman  proletariat  as  follows:  "  The  wild  have  holes 
and  for  everything  there  is  some  shelter,  some  retreat;  but  the  poor 
who  struggle  and  die  for  Italy,  they  have  light  and  air  and  nothing 
more.  Houseless  and  homeless  they  wander  with  their  wives  and 
little  ones.  The  poor  must  struggle  and  die  for  the  blustering 
drunkards  and  corrupted  wealthy,  called  nobility,  whom  their 
labor  creates  and  sustains."  f 

At  a  later  time  there  must  have  been  great  congestion  of  popu- 
lation in  Rome  and  in  the  large  cities  of  Italy.  Houses  were  from 

*  Ferguson's  History  of  Architecture, 
t  Plutarch's  Lives,  The  Gracchi. 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE       7 

ten  to  twelve  stories  in  the  front  and  from  twelve  to  fifteen  stories 
in  the  rear.  The  height  of  ceilings  from  the  floor  was  ten  to  twelve 
feet  on  the  lower  stories,  but  this  height  decreased,  so  that  in  the 
upper  stories,  designed  for  poor  tenants,  the  ceilings  were  less 
than  five  feet  from  the  floor,  and  in  Pompeii  a  house  four  feet  and 
three  inches  high  was  found.  The  poorest  class  of  workmen  lived 
in  the  upper  stories  and  also  in  cellars  and  sub-cellars,  which 
were  filled  with  paupers  whose  condition  may  be  better  imagined 
than  described. 

Of  course,  with  the  contempt  of  the  Romans  for  the-  lives  of 
the  slaves  and  manual  workers,  no  attempt  was  made  to  better  the 
conditions  of  the  people  or  to  study  the  influence  of  industry  upon 
their  health.  That  it  was  known  admits  no  doubt.  Pliny  reports 
the  dangers  of  workers  with  sulphur  and  zinc.  The  satirists  Martial, 
Juvenal  and  Plautus  speak  of  the  "  blear-eyed  smith,"  "  lame 
tailors,"  etc.  Galen  also  makes  observations  on  the  diseases  of 
certain  workers. 

Great  sufferings  from  want  among  the  slaves  of  Italy  are  men- 
tioned in  Pliny's  Natural  History.  The  slaves,  who  were  not  killed 
off  directly  by  their  masters,  were  condemned  to  early  graves  by 
plagues  and  epidemics  which  were  then  so  frequent.  The  laborers 
were  held  to  be  the  lowest  in  the  rank  of  human  beings  next  to 
the  slaves,  and  the  life  of  a  laborer  was  considered  a  mean  and 
unmanly  occupation.  The  hordes  of  barbarians  who  fell  prey  to 
the  arms  of  Rome  and  were  then  enslaved,  performed  most  of  the 
manual  labor,  and  the  frequent  and  •  desperate  revolts  of  these 
slaves,  as  exemplified  in  some  of  the  ancient  insurrections  like  that 
of  Spartacus,  and  the  bloodthirsty  way  in  which  they  were  put 
down,  show  how  little  slave-owners  cared  for  the  lives,  health  or 
comforts  of  their  workers. 

Industry  and  Workplace  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  overturn  of 
ancient  civilization  by  the  Germanic  invasions,  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  and  the  fall  of  Rome  had  a  profound  effect  upon  the 
system  of  industrial  production  of  the  ancient  regime.  In  the 
frequent  dynastic  upheavals  during  the  decline  of  the  empire,  the 
end  of  slave  production  became  imminent.  The  rise  of  the  new 
religion  imbued  the  slaves  with  a  new  spirit.  The  breaking  up  of 
the  empire  led  to  economic  isolation.  Great  markets  disintegrated, 
and  international  trade  came  to  an  end.  The  barbarian  invaders 
of  the  empire  brought  with  them  their  primitive  domestic  economy 
as  well  as  their  political  institutions,  so  well  described  by  Tacitus. 


8 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


The  industrial  unit  was  the  family,  whether  the  simple  grouping 
of  parents  and  children  or  the  larger  households  of  manorial  over- 
lords or  monasteries,  with  their  serfs  and  dependents. 

The  transition  from  domestic   production  to  the  handicraft  or 
guild  system  was  gradual.     The  rise  and  growing  economic  impor- 


u^fJjEfcff** 


Alter  Jobst  Amman 


A  Mediaeval  Bake-Shop 


tance  of  the  mediaeval  towns  fostered  the  development  of  handi- 
crafts, and  during  the  twelfth  century,  guilds,  or  associations  of 
workers  in  similar  crafts  banded  together  for  mutual  protection, 
began  to  appear.  Among  the  first  craft  guilds  were  those  of  the 
weavers  and  fullers  of  woolen  cloth.  These  guilds  were  especi- 
ally protected  by  the  cities  and  had  practically  a  monopoly  of 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE       9» 

labor.  No  one  could  work  at  a  craft  without  admission  to  the 
guild;  the  limitation  was  exacting  and  the  rules  were  very  severe. 
An  apprenticeship  of  seven  years  was  usually  necessary  before  a 
worker  could  start  for  himself.  The  guilds  assumed  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  quantity  and  quality  of  production,  and  craftsmen 
deviating  from  these  regulations  were  severely  punished. 

There  was  no  large  class  of  wage-workers  under  the  guild  system.. 
Each  worker  having  passed  through  his  years  of  apprenticeship 
could  become  a  master  of  the  craft,  sometimes  after  having  spent 
a  few  years  as  journeyman.  The  cloisters  and  monasteries  were 
seats  of  great  industrial  activity.  Trade  was  carried  on  in  forti- 
fied cities  by  means  of  markets  and  fairs.  The  exchange  of  com- 
modities was  limited  to  the  city  or  to  a  group  of  cities  and  there  wa& 
little  inter-city  communication  and  hardly  any  international  com- 
munication until  a  much  later  period. 

It  is  to  the  guild  system  of  production  that  we  owe  the  wonderful 
cathedrals  and  abbeys  of  the  middle  ages,  the  stained  glass,  sculp- 
tures and  carvings  that  adorn  them,  the  tapestries,  pottery 
and  metal  work  that  are  the  despair  and  admiration  of  modern 
craftsmen. 

But  (during  the  sixteenth  century,  the  power  of  the  guilds  began  / 
to  decay.  Their  decline  followed  the  development  of  capital  and 
the  growth  of.  trade,  due  to  the  improvement  of  the  means  of 
communication  and  the  great  discoveries  of  the  fifteenth  century 
explorers.  The  expansion  of  the  market  demanded  increased  pro- 
duction, which  the  guilds,  with  their  restrictive  regulations  on  the 
numbers  of  apprentices  and  quantity  and  quality  of  the  product, 
were  unable  to  supply.  To  meet  this  demand,  extra-town  and 
extra-guild  production  sprang  up  all  over  Europe,  and  the  capitalist 
or  entrepreneur  began  to  make  his  appearance  in  industry.  A 
form  of  production  developed  under  which  the  master  worker  or 
merchant,  who  had  accumulated  some  capital,  bought  the  raw  mate- 
rials and  distributed  them  to  the  workers  in  the  country  and  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  town,  later  collecting  and  selling  the  finished  product 
either  directly  to  the  consumer  or  to  the  merchants  in  the  towns 
During  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  and  the  early  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  this  method  prevailed  in  the  manufacture 
of  staple  commodities  and  became  the  forerunner  of  the  modern 
factory  system.  It  is  sometimes  called  the  cottage  industry  because 
of  the  industrial  activity  of  the  workers  spread  in  so  many  cottages 
outside  of  the  towns. 


10 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Of  course,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  middle  ages  after  the  fifteenth 
century,  there  were  a  number  of  large  industrial  establishments 


GQ 

I 


in  various  countries,  besides  the  small  workshops  in  the  cities  or 
those  shops  attached  to  the  great  monasteries  or  baronial  manors. 
As  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  there  is  a 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     11 

description  of  a  factory  of  an  important  merchant,  John  Winch- 
combe,  called  Jack  Newbury,  whose  manufacturing  establishment 
seems  to  have  been  well  known  throughout  England.  The  following 
quotation  from  Fuller's  "Worthies,"  giving  a  glowing  account  of  his 
plant,  is  of  interest : 

"  Within  one  room,  being  large  and  long,  there  stood  two  hundred 
looms  full  strong;  two  hundred  men  wrought  in  these  looms  in  a 
row.  By  every  one  a  pretty  boy  sat  making  quills  with  mickle 
joy.  In  another  place  hard  by,  one  hundred  women  merrily  were 
carding  hard  with  joyful  cheer,  and  in  a  chamber  close  beside,  two 
hundred  maidens  did  abide;  and  in  another  room  seventy  children 
picking  wool — forty  men  in  the  dye  works — twenty  fullers — nearly 
a  thousand  workers  in  all." 

According  to  Wilhelm  Stieda,*  there  was  in  1573  a  large  sugar 
refinery  in  Augsburg;  in  1592  a  gold  and  silver  place  at  Nuremburg; 
in  1593  a  soap  factory  in  Augsburg;  in  1649  a  blue-dye  factory 
in  Annaberg;  in  1686  a  "  tuch  fabrik  "  in  Halle  where  fifty  weavers 
and  three  hundred  spinners  were  employed.  Some  time  later  a  wool 
and  silk  factory  was  established  in  Magdeburg  where  five  hundred 
workers  were  employed.  In  1710  a  porcelain  factory  was  established 
in  Meisen;  in  1718  a  porcelain  factory  was  established  in  Berlin; 
in  1764  a  linen  factory  was  established  in  Tournai,  Belgium,  where 
eight  hundred  workers  were  employed;  and  a  woolen  factory  was 
established  in  Mechlin  employing  four  hundred  and  thirty-four 
workers. 

According  to  Stieda,  there  were  in  Germany  before  1801  at 
least  twenty  factories,  each  employing  between  one  hundred  and 
five  hundred  persons. 

There  must,  therefore,  have  been  some  large  establishments 
throughout  European  countries  during  the  latter  part  of  the  middle 
ages  just  before  the  beginning  of  the  factory  era,  but  most  of  the  work 
was  done  either  by  artisans,  who  were  members  of  the  guilds,  in  little 
shops  in  their  own  houses,  or  by  the  house-workers,  who  lived  on 
the  outskirts  of  towns  and  in  agricultural  settlements  and  were 
commissioned  by  the  large  capitalist  to  do  certain  work,  especially 
spinning  and  weaving.  These  people  worked  in  their  own  houses, 
alternating  this  work  with  agriculture.  It  was  only  with  the  advent 
of  the  modern  factory  system  that  a  great  change  took  place  in 
the  construction  and  character  of  the  workshop. 

*  Article  "  Fabrik  "  in  Conrad's  Handworterbuch  der  Staats  Wissenschaften. 


12 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


The  workshop  of  the  craftsman  in  the  mediaeval  period  was  located 
on  the  first  floor  of  the  tall  houses,  in  the  narrow  streets  of  mediaeval 
fortified  cities.  One  who  at  the  present  time  passes  through  some  of 
the  narrow  streets  of  Cologne,  Ghent,  Nuremburg  and  other  ancient 
towns  may  easily  imagine  the  conditions  of  the  houses  and  work- 


f 


Alter  Jobst  Amman 
The  Master  Shoemaker  and  his  Journeymen  (16th  century) 

shops,  when  every  town  was  a  fort  and  every  city  a  citadel.  In  many 
of  the  cities  the  crafts  were  huddled  together  in  special  quarters 
and  many  streets  took  their  names  from  the  crafts  which  were 
carried  on  in  them;  such  as  the  Rue  de  la  Cordonnerie  in  Paris,  where 
the  shoemakers  lived,  and  the  Rue  Pot  de  Fer,  where  the  iron- 
workers lived. 


THE  FACTOEY,  ITS  EISE,  GEOWTH  AND  INFLUENCE      13 

The  shops  where  the  craftsman,  his  apprentices  and  journey- 
men worked  were  small  and  dark;  the  floor  was  of  earth;  the  win- 
dows frequently  of  oiled  paper,  as  glass  was  too  expensive.  The 
shops  opened  on  narrow  streets.  There  are  still  some  old  towns 
where  typical  mediaeval  streets  can  be  seen,  the  second  story  jutting 
over  the  first  story  and  the  third  story  again  over  the  second,  so 
that  the  passerby  in  the  street  or  the  workers  in  the  rooms  on  the 
first  story,  were  as  badly  off  for  light  as  those  living  at  the  bottom 
of  modern  canyons  formed  by  high  buildings  in  twentieth  century 
cities. 

The  workshop  served  also  as  a  salesroom  and  opened  on  to  the 
street.  Pigs,  chickens  and  other  animals  could  wander  freely  in 
and  out.  In  rainy  weather  the  mud  and  filth  from  the  streets  was 
tracked  in  the  workshops.  All  refuse  and  sewage  was  of  course 
emptied  into  the  streets  and  the  smells  must  have  been  inde- 
scribable. 

The  fact  that  the  houses  were  draughty  and  that  unless  the 
windows  were  opened  there  was  very  little  light  to  work  by,  was 
probably  the  salvation  of  the  workers  of  those  early  times.  They 
had  perforce  to  live  a  good  deal  in  the  air.  With  no  sanitation 
and  with  the  often  very  crowded  condition  prevailing  even  in  small 
towns,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  ranks  of  the  workers  of  the  mid- 
dle ages  were  frequently  decimated  by  the  plagues  which  swept  over 
Europe  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  seventeenth  centuries. 

Brizon  gives  the  following  description  of  some  mediaeval  work- 
shops:* 

"  The  bakeshop  was  a  low  room  which  opened  on  the  street; 
at  the  back  of  the  room  was  the  black  hole  of  the  oven.  Well  in 
sight  was  a  wooden  sideboard  on  which  bread  and  rolls  were  dis- 
played. Near  the  window  was  a  pair  of  scales  on  which  the  bread 
for  customers  was  weighed.  Beside  the  scales  were  the  tallies  on 
which  the  baker  marked  bread  sold  on  credit;  for  credit  had  already 
become  a  custom.  Here  and  there  against  the  wall  were  baskets, 
rolling  pins,  wooden  mallets  and  great  wooden  shovels.  Often  the 
baker  himself  bolted  his  wheat  with  a  bolting  mill." 

"  The  pastry  cookshops  were  almost  always  numerous  and 
attractive.  They  were  very  much  the  fashion  during  the  century 
of  Gargantua.  In  Paris,  these  shops  were  the  admiration  of  Lip- 
pomana,  the  Venetian  Ambassador.  '  If  you  want/  said  he,  '  your 
food  completely  ready,  cooked  or  baked,  in  less  than  one  hour, 
the  cooks  and  pastry  cooks  will  prepare  for  you  a  dinner  or  a  supper 
for  fifteen,  twenty  or  one  hundred  persons.  The  rotissier  will  give 

*  Pierre  Brizon,  Histoire  du  Travail  et  dea  Travailleurs,  p.  69-73. 


14 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


you  meats;    the  patissier,  pastry,  tarts,  entrees  and   desserts;    the 
•cuisinier,  jellies,  sauces  and  ragouts.'  ' 

"  In  the  rear  of  the  shop  of  the  pastry  cook  was  the  gaping 
mouth  of  the  oven;  in  the  front  were  windows  of  oiled  paper. 
Within  the  shop  were  the  implements  of  the  trade  and  cooking 
utensils.  These  utensils  were  often  of  very  fine  materials.  There 


After  Jobst  Amman 

A  Printing  Shop  in  the  Sixteenth  Century 

were  boilers  for  fish,  cake  dishes  and  baking  dishes  of  copper,  all 
shining,  and  rolling  pins,  graters  and  moulds  covered  with  silver. 
Near  the  window  the  cakes  were  displayed,  while  the  pastry  cook 
himself  stood  in  front  of  the  scales." 

"  The   workers   who  were   occupied  with   the  manufacture   of 
•clothes  and  clothing    materials   all  worked  seated.     The   noise  of 
weaver's  loom  would  come  from  the  cellar  or  from  a  room  on 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     15 

the  ground  floor  or  on  the  first  story.  The  master  workman  worked 
alone  or  with  his  apprentices,  often  in  the  country  in  the  homes  of  the 
peasants,  who  furnished  him  with  wool.  He  might,  however,  pursue 
several  trades  either  in  his  home  or  with  his  workers  in  a  workshop. 
He  seldom  sold  the  material  he  wove  directly  to  customers,  but 
rather  to  merchants." 

"  Here  is  a  picture  of  a  hat  maker  who  lived  at  Troyes  on  a 
bridge  which  crossed  a  branch  of  the  Seine.  His  workshop  was  on 
the  river  in  a  little  room  where  there  was  a  copper  boiler,  steam 
casts,  mortar,  wooden  mallets  and  a  hundred  and  one  different 
forms  for  making  hats.  There  he  made  hats  of  felt  or  of  wool  which 
were  afterwards  dyed.  He  did  not  have  many  in  stock,  for  when 
he  died  in  1693  there  were  only  thirteen  in  his  shop,  valued  at 
twenty  livres." 

With  the  general  neglect  of  sanitation  and  disregard  of  health 
peculiar  to  the  middle  ages,  the  study  of  the  influence  of  occupations 
on  the  health  of  the  serfs  and  villains,  or  even  upon  the  lives  of  the 
free  members  of  the  guilds  was  naturally  neglected,  for  the  masters 
fared  as  badly  as  the  apprentices  and  journeymen  with  whom  they 
worked.  There  are,  however,  records  left  of  the  awakening  of  some 
physicians  and  scientists  to  the  importance  of  health  and  sanitation 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  middle  ages. 

During  the  fifteenth,  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  a 
number  of  physicians  began  to  recognize  the  effects  of  industry  on 
health  and  from  time  to  time  gave  expression  to  their  knowledge 
in  reports  and  monographs.  In  the  transactions  of  the  Royal  Society 
of  England  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  we  occasion- 
ally come  across  references  to  the  effects  of  coal  and-lead  mining,  the 
manufacturing  of  mirrors,  the  detrimental  influence  of  dust,  etc. 

Not,  however,  before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  did  the 
knowledge  of  industrial  diseases  and  occupational  influences  become 
crystallized.  This  wras  done  in  the  great  work  of  the  father  of 
modern  industrial  hygiene,  Bernardino  Ramazzini.  Ramazzini  was 
born  in  Capri  in  1633.  In  1659  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years 
he  received  his  doctor's  diploma.  That  he  must  have  practised 
among  workers,  and  that  he  must  have  had  great  clinical  experience, 
and  been  an  original  and  deep  thinker  is  shown  by  his  works  which 
were  published  from  time  to  time,  the  first  in  1685.  His  greatest 
work  on  industrial  hygiene,  written  in  1690,  was  not  published 
until  1700  and  bears  the  following  title:  "  De  Morbis  Artificium 
Diatriba,"  and  is  the  first  work  on  industrial  hygiene  based  upon 
rich  clinical  experience,  and  deep  knowledge  and  insight  into  human 
nature  and  industrial  activity. 


16 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


The  work  consists  of  forty  chapters,  which  were  later  supple- 
mented by  twelve  more  chapters.     In  the  introduction,  Ramazzini 


speaks  of  the  importance  of  industrial  hygiene  and  the  need  for  the 
physician  always  to  ask  the  occupation  of  the  patient,  especially 
among  the  manual  workers.  The  work  fully  describes  the  pro- 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     17 

cesses  of  a  great  number  of  industries: — miners,  mirror-makers, 
chemists,  potters,  glass-makers,  painters,  sofa-makers,  smiths,  lime- 
workers,  fullers,  tobacco  workers,  beer  brewers,  bakers,  millers, 
starch-makers,  laundry  workers,  etc. 

Each  chapter  describes  a  group  of  works,  goes  deeply  into  the 
industrial  activities,  the  injurious  influences  of  each  activity,  the 
character  of  the  work  itself  and  the  workplace,  and  mentions  the 
ills  and  diseases  to  which  the  workers  are  subject.  In  the  supple- 
ment added  in  the  second  edition  there  are  chapters  on  the  typo- 
graphical workers,  on  textile  workers,  wood  workers,  polishers, 
brick  workers,  well  diggers,  marine  workers,  etc. 

During  his  fruitful  life  Ramazzini  continued  to  work  along 
the  same  lines  and  published  numerous  editions  and  papers  on 
subjects  of  industrial  hygiene.  Ramazzini  gave  the  first  impetus 
to  the  study  of  the  influences  of  industrial  activities  and  the  dis- 
eases of  occupations.  For  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  the 
classic  work  of  Ramazzini  was  the  one  chiefly  used  throughout 
the  civilized  world.  It  was  reprinted  and  republished  in  many 
tongues  and  countries,  and  has  inspired  a  great  number  of  his 
successors.  This  work  was  not  surpassed  until  the  works  of  Thackrah 
of  England,  Layet  of  France  and  Hirt  of  Germany,  at  last  put  , 
industrial  hygiene  upon  a  firm  scientific  basis. 

The  Modern  Factory  System.  The  discovery  of  America  and 
other  new  lands,  the  breaking  down  of  inter-city  barriers,  the 
development  of  international  and  intercontinental  communications, 
the  expansion  of  commerce  and  trade,  the  creation  and  large  under- 
takings of  the  great  commercial  companies,  all  led  to  dissatisfaction 
with  the  guild  system  of  production,  which  was  no  longer  able  to 
supply  the  rapidly  increasing  demands  of  trade  and  commerce. 
During  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  it  became  more 
and  more  evident  that  industrial  production  by  the  means  of 
handicrafts  or  cottage  industries  was  inadequate,  and  that  the  burden 
of  limitations  imposed  by  the  guild  organizations  upon  industry 
was  hindering  the  development  of  industrial  organization. 

It  is  customary  to  date  the  birth  and  rise  of  the  modern  factory 
system  from  the  middle  or  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  germ  of  the  new  economic  system  could  be  found 
in  much  earlier  methods  of  production,  and  the  rise  of  capitalism 
in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  can  be  justly  regarded 
as  the  forerunner  of  the  modern  factory  system.  During  these 
centuries  antedating  the  factory  system  the  distribution  of  wealth, 


18 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


commercial  enterprises  and  international  trade  were  gradually 
modernized  and  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  capitalists.  Indus- 
trial production,  although  occasionally  concentrated  in  large  com- 
munities or  even  in  large  establishments,  was  still  in  the  main 
carried  on  on  a  small  scale,  so  that  no  great  increase  in  the  quantity 
of  commodities  was  possible.  This  necessary  increase  in  production 
and  wealth  could  only  be  attained  by  the  aid  of  the  wonderful 
inventions  and  discoveries  that  were  made  during  the  eighteenth 
century. 

Among  the  multitude  of  human  wants  there  is  perhaps  not  one 
so  closely  interwoven  with  human  progress  as  the  production  and 


From  "  The  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States."  by  Carrcll  D   Wright 
LL.D.;  copyright,  1895,  1897.     By  permission  of  Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Crompton's  Mule-Jenny  (Specification  Drawing) 


manufacture  of  clothing.  The  spinning  of  yarn  from  cotton,  flax, 
hemp,  silk,  etc.,  has  been  from  time  immemorial  accomplished  by 
the  crude  means  of  distaff  and  spindle,  and  later  by  the  spinning 
wheel.  That  the  quantity  and  quality  of  material  produced  by 
this  elementary  method  could  not  be  great,  and  that  it  required 
the  work  of  many  persons  for  long  periods  to  satisfy  increasing 
wants,  is  obvious. 

The  fly  shuttle  was  known  for  quite  a  long  time  and  increased 
the  possibility  of  weaving  cloth  without,  however,  increasing  the 
amount  of  yarn  that  could  be  spun.  During  the  early  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  the  weavers  complained  bitterly  of  having 
to  remain  idle  through  inability  to  obtain  sufficient  yarn  from  the 
spinners.  This  inequality  was  removed  with  the  invention  of  the 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     19 

spinning  jenny,  which  was  due  to  the  genius  of  Thomas  High,  a 
Mr.  Kay,  and  James  Hargreay.es,  It  is  usual  to  give  the  credit  for 
the  invention  of  the  spinning  jenny  to  Hargreaves,  who  made 
the  first  machine  in  1767  and  patented  it  in  1770.  It  is  a  fact, 
however,  that  the  clockmaker  Kay,  who  afterwards  was  employed 
by  Arkwright,  and  Thomas  High,  a  reed  maker  of  Leigh,  made 
the  first  machine  and  set  it  up  in  High's  house.  It  was  even  named 
in  honor  of  Jane,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  High.  The  jenny  was  per- 
fected by  Hargreaves,  who  failed  at  first  to  obtain  a  patent  for  it, 
but  used  it  for  his  own  purpose.  So  great  was  the  production  of 
yarn  by  this  invention  that  the  spinners  resented  its  efficiency  andl 
a  mob  stormed  his  house  and  destroyed  his  first  machine. 


From  "The  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States."  by  Carroll  D.   Wright,- 
L.L.D.;  copyright,  1895,1897.    By  permission  of  Charles  Scrlbner's  Sons. 

Hargreave's  Spinning  Jenny 

Nevertheless,  the  process  of  spinning  by  machinery  was  only 
really  begun  when  the  barber,  Arkwright,  saw  the  great  promise 
of  Kay's  and  High's  invention  and  made  or  had  made  for  him  im- 
portant improvements  resulting  in  his  so-called  water-frame,  patented 
by  him  in  1771.  Not  only  had  Arkwright  the  ingenuity  to  adapt 
the  invention  of  the  spinning  jenny,  but  he  also  had  the  daring 
to  embark  in  large  manufacturing,  and  with  several  partners  estab- 
lished the  first  cotton  spinning  mill,  which  at  first  gave  work  only 
to  about  a  dozen  workers.  The  machinery  of  this  mill  was  turned 
by  horses.  In  his  later  factory  at  Cromford  it  was  run  by  water 
power,  and  hence  his  spinning  machine  came  to  be  called  the  water- 
frame. 


20  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  invention  of  the  spinning  jenny  and  the  water-frame  had  not 
completed  the  improvements  for  spinning  yarn  in  large  quantities 
and  of  good  quality.  This  was  made  possible  by  the  invention  of 
Samuel  Crompton,  who  constructed  his  mule  in  1779,  so  called 
because  in  it  the  principles  of  High's  jenny  as  well  as  Arkwright's 
water-frame  were  combined.  These  inventions  made  possible  an 
enormous  increase  in  the  quantity  and  an  improvement  in  the  quality 
of  spinning  yarn;  and  it  was  now  the  process  of  weaving  that  lagged 


From  "  The  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States,"  by  Carroll  D.  Wright, 
LL.D.;  copyright,  1895,  1897.    By  permission  of  Charles  Scrlbner's  Sons. 

Arkwright's  Spinning  Machine.     From  the  original  drawing 

"behind  until  the  invention  of  Edmund  Cartwright's  power  loom, 
which  he  patented  in  1785.  Yet  in  spite  of  these  inventions,  as 
long  as  there  was  no  possibility  of  utilizing  any  other  power  except 
horse  or  water  power,  large  scale  production  was  still  an  impos- 
sibility. It  was  only  after  the  discovery  by  Watt  of  the  steam 
engine  and  its  application  to  factories  in  1785  that  the  real  revo- 
lution began  in  the  method  of  cotton  cloth  production.  Henceforth, 
.an  impetus  was  given  to  industry  that  could  not  be  stopped,  and 
the  results  of  which  could  hardly  be  foreseen  at  that  time. 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     21 

The  enormous  increase  in  cotton  production  may  be  somewhat 
judged  by  the  following:  In  1775  the  amount  of  raw  cotton  imported 
into  England  was  only  5,000,000  pounds.  It  increased  as  follows: 

1785 17,992,882  Ibs. 

1790 .  .  : 31,447,605  " 

1801 54,203,433  " 

1811 90,309,668  " 

1821 137,401,539  " 

1831 273,249,653  " 

1841 437,093,631  " 

1849 775,469,008  "  * 

The  increase  of  production  in  the  cotton  industry  was  naturally 
followed  by  increased  production  in  many  other  industries.  In 
1701,  England's  woolen  export  amounted  to  2,000,000  pounds; 
in  1770,  to  14,000,000  pounds.  The  following  table  shows  the 
increase  in  industrial  production  in  the  export  of  British  cotton  goods: 

1741 £    20,709 

1751 45,986 

1764 200,354 

1780 355,060 

1791 1,875,046 

1833 ,  18,486,400  f 

With  increased  production  came  also  a  great  increase  in  the 
population  under  the  factory  system,  especially  in  certain  districts. 
In  1700,  Lancashire  numbered  only  166,200  inhabitants;  in  1750 
the  population  was  297,400;  in  1801  it  had  grown  to  672,565;  in 
1831  to  1,336,854;  being  an  increase  of  more  than  eightfold  in  one 
hundred  and  thirty  years. J.  Not  only  in  England  but  in  other 
countries  and  also  in  the  United  States  there  was  great  increase  in 
industrial  production. 

In  1775,  the  first  spinning  jenny  ever  seen  in  America  was 
exhibited  in  Philadelphia.  The  first  experiments,  embodying 
the  principles  of  Arkwright's  inventions  in  the  erection  of  a 
primitive  cotton  factory,  were  made  in  Massachusetts,  but  it  was 
in  Rhode  Island  that  the  first  factory  was  started  in  which  per- 
fected machinery,  made  after  the  English  models,  was  practically 
employed.  This  was  begun  by  Samuel  Slater,  the  "  father  of 

*  Innes,  Arthur,  D.,  England's  Industrial  Development,  p.  233. 
t  Raines,  History  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture,  pp.  Ill  and  349. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  360. 


22  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

American  manufactures/'  who  came  over  from  England  for  the 
purpose,  and  started  his  mill  with  three  cards  and  seventy-two 
spindles  in  1790.  A  man  in  South  Carolina  (mentioned  by  a  writer 
in  the  American  Museum,  for  July,  1790)  completed  and  had  in  opera- 
tion on  the  Santee,  ginning;  carding,  and  other  machines  driven 
by  water;  and  also  spinning  machines  with  eighty-four  spindles 
each.  In  1814,  the  first  power  loom  was  set  up  at  Waltham,  Mass. 
This  factory  was  the  first  in  the  world,  as  far  as  records  show,  in 
which  all  the  processes  involved  in  the  manufacture  of  goods  from 
the  raw  material  to  the  finished  product,  were  carried  on  in  one 
establishment.* 

Within  the  first  fifty  years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  quantity 
of  cotton  wool  imported  seems  to  have  little  more  than  doubled; 
within  the  last  twenty  years  it  multiplied  more  than  eightfold. 
The  rate  of  progression,  therefore,  was  ten  times  as  great  in  the 
latter  period  as  in  the  former. 

Within  the  first  fifty  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  value 
of  cotton  exports  nearly  doubled;  within  the  last  twenty  it 
multiplied  fifteen  and  a  half  fold.  The  rate  of  progression,  therefore, 
was  nearly  twenty  times  as  great  in  the  latter  period  as  in  the 
former.  Such  are  the  effects  of  machinery!  f 

The  following  table  shows  the  early  cotton  manufacture  in  the 
United  States  as  regards  the  number  of  spindles: 

1805 .....' 4,500 

1807 8,000 

1809.  .v , 31,000 

1810...' 87,000 

1815 130,000 

1820 220,000 

1825 800,000 

1831 .  1,246,703 

The  following  table  shows  the  growth  of  the  factory  system  as 
illustrated  by  the  cotton  industry  in  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States: 

Year.  No.  Est.  No.  Spindles.       No.  Looms.     No.  Employes. 

Great  Britain:  1833  1,151  9,333.000  100,000  237,000 

1878  2,671  39,527,920  514,911  482,903 

United  States:  1831  801  1,246.703  33,433  57,466 

1880  756  10,653,435  225,759  172,544$ 

*  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States,  p.  130. 

t  Baines.  History  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture,  p.  216. 

j  Carroll  D.  Wright,  The  Factory  System  in  the  United  States,  p.  6. 


THE  FACTOKY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     23 


24  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  Industrial  Revolution  and  its  Influence.  The  Industrial 
Revolution,  partly  described  above,  impressed  itself  upon  all 
branches  of  human  activity  and  produced  vast  changes  in  the  econ- 
omic and  political  as  well  as  the  intellectual  development  of  man- 
kind. 

The  first  results  of  the  Industrial  Revolution  were  the  enor- 
mous expansion  in  trade  and  commerce,  and  the  great  increase  in 
the  wealth  of  nations,  the  rise  of  capitalism  and  the  capitalistic 
system  of  production,  great  expansion  in  commercial  undertakings, 
the  hunt  for  domestic  and  foreign  markets,  the  increase  in  wealth 
and  manufactures,  and  the  general  increase  in  the  wealth  of  nations. 
Some  of  the  above  statistics  show  the  enormous  development  of 
production  in  England  (imports  and  exports)  as  well  as  in  the 
United  States  due  to  the  changed  mode  of  production.  In  1793 
the  value  of  exports  in  England  amounted  to  £17,000,000;  it  was 
doubled  in  1800,  and  more  than  trebled  in  1815,  reaching  the  sum 
of  £58,000,000. 

In  1700,  an  estimated  population  of  England  and  Wales,  based 
upon  the  parish  registers,  showed  a  total  of  5,000,000.  In  1750,  the 
population  increased  to  6,000,000,  and  according  to  the  first  census 
in  1801  it  had  increased  to  9,000,000.  The  population  increased 
approximately  twenty  per  cent  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  approximately  fifty  per  cent  during  the  last  half.  Dur- 
ing the  nineteenth  century  the  population  quadrupled  itself.  The 
first  thirty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  added  more  than  the 
whole  of  the  eighteenth  century;  and  the  acceleration  in  the  increase 
of  the  population  appears  to  have  set  in  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century.* 

The  following  table  shows  the  growth  of  capital  and  popula- 
tion in  England  and  the  property  per  head: 

Population.  Property.  Property  per  head. 

1720  6,500,000  £  370,000,000  £  57 

1750  7,000,000  500,000,000  71 

1800  9,000,000  1,500,000,000  167  f 

It  was  also  during  this  period  that  the  great  redistribution  of 
population  set  in.  It  may  be  illustrated  by  noting  that  the  north- 
ern and  north  midland  counties,  which  to-day  contain  one-half 
of  the  population  of  England,  in  1700  contained  less  than  one- 

*  Innes,  p.  225. 

t  Porter,  Progress  of  the  Nation,  p.  696. 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     25 

quarter.     It  was  mainly  during  that  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century  that  the  center  of  gravity  was  decisively  shifted. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  concentration  of  pop- 
ulation in  industrial  cities  and  in  industrial  centers,  and  a  table  was 
cited  showing  the  increase  of  population  in  the  Lancashire  dis- 
trict. The  invention  of  machinery  necessitated  the  concentration 
of  capital,  construction  of  large  factories  and  congregation  of  a 
large  number  of  workers  within  them.  The  utilization  of  steam 
power  made  manufacture  independent  of  watercourses  and  con- 
centrated industry  near  the  coal  fields  and  in  large  industrial  cen- 
ters. The  decrease  in  domestic  production  led  to  depopulation 
of  the  agricultural  districts,  the  abandonment  of  the  farm  cottages, 
and  the  massing  of  a  large  working  population  in  towns  and  around 
large  establishments.  It  was  due  to  the  economic  expansion  that 
foreign  markets,  colonization,  and  the  conquest  of  new  markets 
became  so  necessary. 

At  the  root  of  all  the  English  wars  during  the  last  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
were  economic  causes.  The  wars  were  necessitated  by  England's 
endeavor  to  gain  commercial  supremacy  of  the  world,  after  she 
had  invented  the  means  of  supplying  the  world's  markets  to  over- 
flowing. The  American  Revolution  was  brought  about  through 
attempts  of  the  home  government  to  keep  the  colonies  as  markets 
for  English  products  and  prevent  development  of  colonial  man- 
ufacture and  trade  with  other  countries. 

A  wide  cleft  was  made  in  the  relations  of  employer  and  employe. 
A  new  class,  that  of  wage  workers,  was  created.  The  whole  indus- 
trial framework  of  society  was  changed.  The  means  of  produc- 
tion, formerly  in  the  hands  of  each  worker,  through  application 
of  steam  power  was  taken  away  from  him  and  concentrated  in  the 
hands  of  large  capitalists,  dividing  the  industrial  world  into  two 
sharply  defined  classes  of  employers  and  employes,  with  the  class 
of  employers  possessing  the  means  of  production  and  the  workers 
competing  with  each  other  and  struggling  for  existence,  forming 
a  new  class  whose  numbers  continually  increased,  as  machinery  and 
steam  invaded  one  industry  after  another. 

The  output  of  factories  increased  a  hundred  and  thousand 
fold;  manufactures  grew  with  unheard  of  rapidity;  but  the  modern 
factory  system  also  supplanted  the  old  amicable  and  personal  rela- 
tions of  master,  journeyman  and  apprentice.  It  made  it  difficult 
for  the  journeyman  and  apprentice  to  ever  become  a  master;  it 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     27 

compelled  the  worker  to  change  his  employment  with  the  exigencies 
of  industry  and  to  run  the  risk  of  losing  his  trade  with  each  new 
invention  and  discovery. 

With  the  advent  of  improved  methods  of  spinning  and  weaving, 
the  importance  of  the  skilled  craftsman  declined,  as  the  simplified 
machinery  made  it  possible  for  an  unskilled  laborer,  a  woman  or 
even  a  child  to  perform  the  simple  operations  necessary,  and  thus 
to  supplant  the  skilled  and  adult  laborer.  The  displacement  of 
a  large  number  of  adult  workers,  their  flocking  to  the  industrial 
centers,  made  competition  among  them  so  great  that  wages  fell  to 
a  minimum.  The  division  of  labor  in  factories  made  possible  by 
improved  machinery,  made  of  the  worker  a  simple  appendage  to 
the  machine,  who  could  be  replaced  at  the  whim  and  will  of  the 
employer. 

Aristotle  dreamed  that  "  if  the  weavers'  shuttles  were  to  weave 
of  themselves  there  would  be  no  need  either  of  apprentices  for  the 
master  worker  or  slaves  for  the  overlords."  One  part  of  the  dream 
came  true.  Weavers'  shuttles  almost  wove  of  themselves  and  still 
the  golden  age  was  beyond  the  ken  of  man.  The  application  of 
machinery  to  spinning  and  weaving  created  a  greater  and  greater 
demand  for  apprentices  and  for  the  utilization  of  the  youngest 
children  in  industry.  While  wealth  increased  enormously,  poverty 
increased  by  still  greater  strides.  From  1760  to  1818  the  poor 
rate  grew  from  three  shillings  sevenpence  per  head  to  thirteen 
shillings  threepence  per  head. 

As  Carlyle  expressed  it,  "  England  is  full  of  wealth,  yet  England 
is  dying  of  inanition."  The  golden  age  of  the  cotton  trade  marks 
the  advent  of  the  dark  age  of  starvation  and  wage  slavery.  The 
changed  form  of  manufacture  introduced  competition  not  only 
among  the  workers  but  also  among  employers.  There  ensued  a 
fierce  struggle  between  the  factory  owners  to  undersell  each  other, 
to  cheapen  production,  to  gain  a  foothold  in  the  market.  Success 
became  dependent  upon  rigid  economy  in  methods  of  production 
and  in  the  manufacture  of  wares  at  a  minimum  cost.  It  was 
hardly  possible  for  the  manufacturer  to  economize  much  in  the 
quality  of  the  material,  for  the  sale  of  his  goods  depended  on 
this  quality.  He  could  not  economize  on  machinery,  for  his 
output  greatly  depended  upon  the  efficiency  of  his  machine.  The 
line  of  least  resistance  was  to  economize  at  the  expense  of  the 
workers,  who,  under  this  competitive  system  were  so  anxious  for  a 
job  that  they  cared  not  where  they  worked  or  how  they  worked 


28 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     29 

so  long  as  they  did  work.  Economy  therefore  ruled  in  the 
construction  of  the  factory,  in  the  lack  of  provision  for  health 
and  comfort,  and  in  the  wages  paid  to  the  workers.  In  fact, 
the  employer  considered  the  condition  of  the  employes  no  affair 
of  his. 

Radcliffe  says  that  from  1788  to  1803,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
expansion  in  the  cotton  trade,  "barns,  cart  houses  and  old  buildings 
of  all  descriptions  were  repaired,  windows  broke  through  old  blank 
walls  and  were  fitted  up  for  loom  shops."  The  worker  was  drawn 
away  from  his  peaceful  cottage  in  the  agricultural  district,  with  his 
alternating  work  at  the  loom  and  in  the  fields,  and  was  transplanted 
into  the  poisoned  and  foul  air  of  the  mill,  with  its  whizzing  machinery 
and  maddening  speed,  which  petrified  his  soul  and  atrophied  the 
organs  of  his  body,  and  shortened  his  days  by  the  cruel  haste  of  the 
machinery. 

But  perhaps  the  greatest  evil  which  followed  the  inception 
of  the  modern  factory  system  was  the  terrible  exploitation  of  child 
labor  in  the  factories.  Children  have  always  participated  in  indus- 
try. Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  extensive  employ- 
ment of  children  in  some  of  the  industrial  establishments  during 
the  middle  ages;  but  it  remained  for  the  modern  factory  system 
to  exploit  systematically  the  labor  of  children,  to  make  it  a  neces- 
sity of  manufacture  and  to  use  and  abuse  a  large  part  of  the  grow- 
ing generation  within  the  factory  and  mill. 

When  the  early  manufacturers  could  not  get  a  sufficient  number 
of  children  or  free  workers  to  feed  their  machines  and  tend  their 
looms,  they  trafficked  with  the  poor-law  officials,  who  sold  the 
children  of  paupers  in  a  form  not  different  from  the  methods  of 
aricient  and  modern  slave  dealers.  No  one  nowadays,  even  those 
who  have  read  the  lurid  reports  of  some  of  the  labor  committees 
of  the  present  day,  can  imagine  the  horrors  which  existed  in  England 
and  other  countries  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century 
and  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  with  respect  to 
child  labor.  Some  of  the  accounts  of  the  condition  of  the  indus- 
trial population  in  England  as  well  as  in  other  countries  may  be 
found  in  the  reports  of  the  official  committees,  which  began  their 
work  in  1776  in  Manchester  and  continued  their  efforts  practically 
throughout  the  course  of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  some  of  these 
reports  are  found  accounts  by  eye-witnesses  of  conditions  which 
spread  horror  in  the  minds  of  all  concerned,  except  those  who 
directly  profited  by  the  labor  of  children. 


30  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

In  Alfred's  "  History  of  the  Factory  Movement/'  volume  i., 
pages  21  and  22,  is  the  following  summary: 

11  In  stench  and  heated  rooms,  amid  the  constant  whirling  of 
a  thousand  wheels,  little  fingers  and  little  feet  were  kept  in  cease- 
less action,  forced  into  unnatural  activity  by  blows  from  the  heavy 
hands  and  feet  of  the  merciless  overlooker,  and  the  infliction  of  bodily 
pain  by  instruments  of  punishment.  They  were  fed  upon  the  coarsest 
food,  often  with  the  same  as  that  served  out  to  the  pigs.  They 
slept  by  turns  and  in  relays  in  filthy  beds  which  were  never  cooled. 
There  was  often  no  discrimination  of  sex,  and  disease,  misery  and 
vice  grew  as  in  a  hotbed  of  contagion.  Those  who  tried  to  run 
away  had  irons  riveted  to  their  ankles  with  long  links  reaching  up 
to  the  hips  and  were  compelled  to  work  and  sleep  in  these  chains. 
Many  died  and  were  buried  secretly  at  night  and  many  committed 
suicide." 

Gibbins,  in  his  "  History  of  England/'  in  discussing  the  early 
factory  investigations,  says: 

"  Terrible  evidence  of  overwork  was  given  before  the  committee, 
but  the  grasp  of  Mammon  was  cruel  and  relentless,  and  now  that 
social  reformers  were  in  earnest,  the  inevitable  opposition  of  capital- 
istic greed  rose  up  in  all  its  power  to  block  the  path  of  humanity— 
the  surest  block  was  delay. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  go  further  into  a  description  of  the  abuses 
at  the  beginning  of  the  present  industrial  system  or  to  cite  the 
complaints  and  inquiries  which  were  made  in  England  and  other 
countries  on  the  condition  of  the  laboring  class  and  of  the  children 
in  the  factories.  Much  of  this  data  may  be  found  in  Engels' 
"  Condition  of  the  Laboring  Class  in  England/'  in  Chad  wick's 
"  Report  on  the  Condition  of  the  Laboring  Class  in  England,"  and 
in  the  other  reports  named  in  the  Appendix.  It  is  sufficient  to  say 
here  that  the  discovery  and  disclosure  of  the  evils  of  child  labor 
and  other  abuses  of  modern  factory  production  led  to  popular 
demands  for  redress  and  improvement  and  for  the  curbing  of  the 
power  of  the  capitalists  by  factory  legislation,  which  will  be  described 
in  a  later  chapter. 

The  evidence  adduced  by  the  reports  of  investigating  committees 
in  different  countries,  as  to  the  effect  of  the  modern  factory  system 
upon  the  health  and  the  lives  of  the  workers,  and  the  industrial 
population,  served  to  prove  the  contention  of  the  earlier  hygienists 
since  Ramazzini,  that  intimate  relations  exist  between  occupation 
and  health,  and  that  industry  and  industrial  mortality  are  inter- 
dependent. The  real  proof,  however,  could  only  appear  after  vital 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     31 

statistics  became  a  science,  when  general  vital  registration  was 
introduced  in  England  and  other  countries,  when  mortality  statistics 
were  taken  in  connection  with  the  occupations  of  the  population, 
and  when  it  became  apparent  that  there  was  a  great  difference  in 
the  mortality  rates  between  industrial  and  rural  districts  and  between 
the  inhabitants  of  one  district  and  those  of  another.  Until  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  vital  statistics  were  practically 
unknown  in  their  present  scientific  form,  and  all  calculations  as  to 
the  number  of  population,  death  rate,  disease  rate,  etc.,  were  based 
simply  upon  guesswork. 

When,  in  1801,  the  first  census  of  population  in  England  was 
made  and  statistics  were  gathered  from  the  towns  and  outlying 
districts,  when  some  order  was  brought  into  the  registration  of 
deaths  and  their  causes,  then  only  could  some  deductions  be  made 
from  the  figures  thus  obtained.  Even  so,  it  has  only  been  within 
the  last  few  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century  that  occupational 
statistics  in  relation  to  mortality  have  been  gathered  in  such  a 
form  as  to  make  their  scientific  use  possible. 

Even  now,  however,  mortality  statistics  are  neither  accurate 
nor  definite  and  the  pitfalls  of  those  who  seek  to  base  deductions 
upon  the  figures  obtained  are  many.  We  have  as  yet  no  scientific 
classification  of  occupations,  nor  is  there  any  universal  uniform 
registration  of  deaths  or  classification  of  the  causes  of  deaths. 
Occupational  mortality  statistics  are  therefore  still  full  of  errors 
and  the  deductions  obtained  from  them  still  problematic. 

Aside  from  all  these  considerations,  there  are  a  number  of  added 
factors  which  make  the  value  of  occupational  mortality  statistics 
uncertain.  The  questions  of  the  selection  of  a  trade  and  occupa- 
tion by  individuals,  the  shifting  of  population  from  one  trade  to 
another,  the  dropping  out  of  persons  from  especially  hazardous 
and  dangerous  trades  so  that  their  deaths  occur  while  pursuing  an 
entirely  different  trade  from  that  in  which  they  are  engaged  most 
of  their  lives,  and  similar  factors,  play  a  most  important  r61e  in 
the  uncertainty  of  occupational  mortality  statistics. 

Nevertheless,  granting  all  the  objections  made  to  the  de- 
ductions obtained  from  occupational  mortality  statistics,  there  is 
undoubtedly  much  evidence  in  the  statistics  of  a  great  many  coun- 
tries, evidence  which  is  practically  the  same  in  all  countries  in  spite 
of  the  differences  in  climate  and  conditions,  to  prove,  (1)  that  the 
mortality  of  persons  living  in  industrial  districts  is  much  greater 
than  the  mortality  of  persons  living  in  agricultural  districts;  (2) 


32  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

that  the  mortality  of  persons  in  certain  general  occupations,  such 
as  farmers,  fishermen,  clergymen,  etc.,  is  much  lower  in  comparison 
to  the  mortality  of  persons  pursuing  industrial  occupations;  and  (3) 
that  the  mortality  of  persons  in  certain  occupations,  is  much  lower 
than  the  mortality  of  persons  who  pursue  occupations  which  contain 
elements  of  danger  and  are  of  an  unhealthful  character  for  one  or 
more  reasons. 

There  is  also  abundant  statistical  data  in  the  records  of  the  sick 
benefit  and  insurance  societies  and  especially  in  the  records  of  the 
State  Sickness  Insurance  Office  in  Germany  from  which  the  follow- 
ing conclusions  may  be  drawn: 

(1)  That  the  morbidity  rates  are  greater  in  industrial  popu- 
lations than  among  agricultural  populations. 

(2)  That  the  morbidity  rates  of  persons  in  certain  occupations 
are  much  higher  than  among  persons  in  other  occupations. 

(3)  That  persons  working  in  certain  dusty  trades  suffer  from 
a  higher  tuberculosis  morbidity  rate  than  those  who  work 
in  occupations  where  there  is  no  dust. 

(4)  That  there  are  certain  diseases  of  the  nerves,  skin,  eyes 
and  ears  as  well  as  infectious  diseases  which  may  be  directly 
traced  to  the  occupations  of  the  workers  suffering  from 
these  diseases. 

The  health  factors  of  occupations  may  be  classified  as  follows: 

GROUP  I.    FACTORS  DUE  TO  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  THE  WORKER: 
(a)  Initial  health  of  the  worker. 
(6)  His  susceptibility,  vitality  and  resistance. 

(c)  Nutrition,  personal  hygiene,  etc. 

(d)  Temperament,  education,  etc. 

(e)  Choice  of  vocation  and  trade. 
(/)  Sex. 

(0)  Age. 

GROUP  II.    FACTORS  DUE  TO  CONDITIONS  OF  WORK: 
(a)  Character  of  work;  active  or  sedentary. 
(6)  Attitude  and  position. 
-  (c)  Duration  and  pauses. 

(d)  Fatigue,  tension  and  responsibility. 

(e)  Wages,  compensation,  etc. 

(/)  Extremes  of  climate,  temperature  and  humidity. 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  EISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     33 

GROUP  III.     FACTORS  DUE  TO  THE  MATERIALS  AND  PROCESSES: 

(a)  Dusts. 

(b)  Poisons. 

(c)  Gases  and  fumes. 

(d)  Infectious  material. 

(e)  Dangerous  machinery  and  appliances. 

GROUP  IV.    FACTORS  DUE  TO  THE  PLACE  OF  WORK: 
(a)  Outdoor  and  indoor. 
(6)  Construction  of  workplace. 

(c)  Type  of  workplace. 

(d)  Location  of  workplace. 

(e)  Light  and  illumination. 
(/)   Air  and  ventilation. 

(g)  Sanitary  care  and  comforts. 
(h)   Fire  protection. 

In  studying  the  modern  factory  we  shall  give  a  detailed  account 
of  the  industrial  etiological  factors,  especially  in  Groups  III.  and 
IV.,  embracing  important  parts  of  industrial  hygiene. 

Definitions  of  Factory,  Workshop,  etc.  The  conception  of  the 
words  "  factory  "  and  "  workshop  "  has  somewhat  changed  from  the 
meaning  generally  given  them  at  the  inception  of  the  modern 
factory  system.  At  the  beginning  the  word  "  factory "  meant 
a  trading  establishment  in  a  distant  country.  It  was  defined 
by  Wright  and  Webster  as  a  "  house  or  place  where  factors  do 
reside;  a  house  or  district  inhabited  by  traders  in  a  distant  coun- 
try." This  meaning  still  survives  in  the  case  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  whose  trading  posts  in  the  Canadian  Northwest  are 
still  called  factories  by  the  older  generation  of  traders.  Such 
"factories"  are  stations  for  the  Indians,  trappers,  guides,  and  other 
inhabitants  of  the  Northwest,  to  which  they  bring  their  skins  and 
other  produce  and  exchange  them  for  merchandise. 

The  change  in  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  factory  "  began  with 
the  eighteenth  century.  Baines,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Cotton 
Manufacture,"  refers  to  the  use  of  the  latter  term  as  a  modern 
invention.  Of  course,  the  modern  use  of  the  term  is  justified  by 
its  derivation,  but  the  word  "  factor"  was  in  earlier  times  rendered 
"  agent  "  in  the  sense  of  deputy  or  manager. 

The  word  "  fabrika  "  is  often  mentioned  in  the  middle  ages  and 
was  applied  to  paper,  glass,  iron,  copper,  and  other  manufacture 


34  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

done  in  cloisters  and  monasteries.  In  Adrian  Beyer's  "  Algemeine 
Handlexicon,"  the  word  "  fabrika  "  is  denned  as  "  fabrika,  officina, 
namentlich, — eine  Werkstatte,  die  eine  gewisse  Art  vom  aller  hand 
Waaren  verfertigt  wird." 

Ure,  in  his  "  Dictionary  of  Arts  and  Manufactures,"  has  no  article 
on  the  word  "  factory."  Carroll  D.  Wright's  definition  is  often 
quoted  as  a  classic.  It  is  as  follows: 

"  A  factory  is  an  establishment  where  several  workmen  are 
collected  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  greater  and  cheaper  conven- 
iences for  labor  than  they  could  procure  individually  at  their  homes, 
for  producing  results  by  their  combined  efforts  which  they  could 
not  accomplish  separately,  and  for  preventing  the  loss  occasioned 
by  carrying  articles  from  place  to  place  during  the  several  processes 
to  complete  their  manufacture."  * 

The  etymological  and  general  definitions  of  the  word  "  fac- 
tory "  are  rarely  taken  into  consideration  in  attempts  at  legal 
definition  made  in  various  countries  with  the  beginnings  of  factory 
legislation.  These  definitions  were  made  at  different  periods  and 
were  changed  according  to  the  exigencies  of  the  times  and  to  develop- 
ments in  legislative  control. 

The  first  Factory  Act  passed  in  England  used  the  words  "  mill 
and  factory  "  without  definition,  simply  applying  them  to  certain 
kinds  of  textile  establishments.  In  the  Act  of  1844  the  words 
"  mill  and  factory  "  were  defined  as  "  all  buildings  and  premises 
situated  within  any  part  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  wherein  or  within  the  close  or  curtilage  of  which, 
steam,  water  or  any  other  machinery  is  employed  in  preparing, 
manufacturing  or  finishing;  or  in  any  process  incident  to  the  manu- 
facture of  cotton,  wool,  hair,  silk,  flax,  jute  or  tow,  either  separately 
or  mixed  with  any  other  material  or  any  fabric  made  thereof,  were 
used."  f 

At  this  time  therefore  the  expression  "  factory "  meant  any 
place  devoted  to  spinning  or  weaving  fabrics  by  power.  As  indus- 
trial establishments  came  more  and  more  under  the  control  of 
the  inspectors  of  factories,  other  works  were  added.  In  1860  bleach 
works,  in  1861  lace  works  and  in  1864  a  number  of  miscellaneous 
industries  in  no  way  connected  with  textiles  or  necessarily  using 
power  machinery  were  added  to  the  definition  of  "factory  and  mill." 

In  time  the  word  "  factory  "  had  come  to  mean  an  extraordi- 
nary variety  of  things.  It  meant  "  not  only  every  place  wherein 

*  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Report  on  the  Factory  System  of  the  United  States,  p.  533. 
t  Cooke-Taylor,  Introduction  to  a  History  of  the  Factory  System,  pp.  3-4. 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     35 

power  other  than  manual  was  in  use  in  any  process  connected  with 
the  production  of  textile  fabrics,  together  with  bleach,  print  and 
dye  works  and  a  great  variety  of  other  products  specially  named 
under  the  Act  of  1864  as  well,  but  also"  any  premises,  whether  adjoin- 
ing or  separate,  in  the  same  occupation,  situated  in  the  same  city, 
town,  parish  or  place  and  constituting  one  trade  establishment, 
in,  on  or  within  the  precincts  of  which  fifty  or  more  persons  are 
employed  in  any  manufacturing  process,"  thus  reintroducing  the 
criterion  of  number  of  employes.  * 

Until  1878,  this  remained  as  the  legal  definition  of  a  factory 
in  England,  and  all  establishments  with  less  than  fifty  persons 
were  considered  workshops  and  not  factories.  Other  countries  as 
well  have  attempted  to  define  the  word  "  factory  "  by  the  number 
of  employes  within  the  establishment.  Thus,  the  French  Law  of 
1841,  the  Austrian  Industrial  Code  of  1859,  the  Italian  Code  of  1886 
regarded  a  workshop  as  a  place  with  more  than  ten  workers  therein. 
The  Industrial  Code  of  Saxony  of  1861  regarded  a  factory  as  one 
employing  more  than  twenty  workers.  In  the  German  law  the 
expression  "  Fabrik  "  is  left  out  entirely  and  establishments  of  ten 
workers  or  more  are  considered  only  as  "Fabrikmassig." 

A  more  scientific  definition  of  factory  and  workshop  was 
first  established  in  England  by  the  Act  of  1878,  which,  while 
not  giving  a  specific  definition  of  a  factory,  makes  a  distinction 
between  a  factory  and  a  workshop  based  upon  the  fact  that  in  the 
former  machinery  worked  by  steam,  water  or  other  mechanical 
power  is  used,  while  a  workshop  is  a  place  where  work  is  done  with- 
out the  help  of  motive  power.  There  are  some  exceptions  to  this  rule, 
and  there  are  also  special  definitions  for  textile  factories,  non- 
textile  factories,  domestic  factories,  workshops,  domestic  work- 
shops, etc. 

The  present  New  York  Law  gives  the  broadest  definition  of  a 
factory  and  it  has  been  judicially  decided  that  for  the  purposes 
of  protection  of  workers,  it  shall  be  construed  to  mean  "  any  place 
where  goods  or  products  are  manufactured  or  repaired,  cleaned  or 
sorted,  in  whole  or  in  part,  for  sale  or  for  wages,  "f  The  follow- 
ing is  the  definition  given  in  the  New  York  Law: 

"  The  term  factory  shall  be  construed  to  include  any  mill,  work- 
shop, or  any  other  manufacturing  or  business  establishment  and  all 
buildings,  sheds,  structures  or  other  places  used  for  or  in  con- 

*  Cooke-Taylor,  Introduction  to  the  History  of  the  Factory  System,  p.  6. 
t  Ritchie  vs.  People,  40  N.  Y.,  pp.  454-455. 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


nection  therewith,  where  one  or  more  persons  are  employed  at 
labor,  except  power  houses,  barns,  storage  houses,  sheds  and  other 
structures  used  in  connection  with  railroad  purposes,  other  than 
construction  or  repair  shops,  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Public 
Service  Commission's  law.  Work  shall  be  deemed  to  be  done  for  a 
factory  within  the  meaning  of  this  chapter  whenever  it  is  done  at 
any  place,  upon  the  work  of  a  factory  or  upon  any  other  materials 
entering  into  the  product  of  the  factory,  whether  under  contract 
or  arrangement  with  any  persons  in  charge  of,  or  connected  with 
such  factory  directly  or  indirectly  through  the  instrumentality  of 
one  or  more  contractors  or  other  third  person." 

The  following  are  definitions  of  a  factory  in  other  states: 

Pennsylvania:  A  factory  is  a  building,  the  main  or  principal 
design  or  use  of  which  is  a  place  to  produce  articles  as  products  of 
labor.* 

Massachusetts:  The  term  "  factory  "  means  any  premises  where 
steam,  water  or  other  mechanical  power  is  used  in  aid  of  any  manu- 
facture or  printing  process  there  carried  on.f 

Minnesota:  The  term  "  factory  "  or  "  mill  "  means  any  prem- 
ises where  steam,  water  or  other  mechanical  power  is  used  in  aid 
•of  any  manufacture  or  printing  process  there  carried  on.  J 

The  following  tables  show  the  number^of  industrial  establish- 
ments classified  as  factories  and  workshops  in  the  United  States, 
several  large  states,  and  in  six  European  countries: 

MANUFACTURING  ESTABLISHMENTS  IN  THE  CHIEF  INDUSTRIAL 
STATES,  ARRANGED  ACCORDING  TO  THE  NUMBER  OF  WAGE- 
EARNERS.  (U.  S.  Census,  1909.) 


State. 

Population. 

No. 
Establishments. 

Wage-Earners, 
Average  Numbei. 

New  York  
Pennsylvania 

9,113,614 
7,665  111 

44,935 
27,563 

1,003,981 
877,543 

Massachusetts            

3  366,416 

11,684 

584,559 

Illinois  

5,638,591 

18,026 

465,764 

Ohio 

4  767,121 

15,138 

446,934 

New  Jersey 

2,537,167 

8,817 

326,223 

Michigan  

2,810,173 

9,159 

231,499 

Connecticut  

1,114,756 

4,251 

210,792 

Indiana                             .    ... 

2,700,876 

7,969 

186,984 

Wisconsin    .  .            

2,333,860 

9,721 

182,583 

Alissouri 

3,293,335 

8,375 

152  993 

North  Carolina 

2,206,287 

4,931 

121,473 

California  

2,377,549 

7,659 

115,296 

Rhode  Island 

542,610 

1,951 

113,538 

Maryland                .        

1,295,346 

4,837 

107,921 

United  States  

91,972,266 

268,491 

6,615,046 

*  Franklin  Fire  Insurance  Co.  vs.  Brock,  57  Pa.,  pp.  74,  82. 
t  Rev.'Laws  Mass.,  1902,  p.  916. 
t  Gen.  St.  Minn.  894,  Par.  2264. 


THE  FACTORY,  ITS  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  INFLUENCE     37 


Number  of  Industrial  Establishments  and  Workers  in  Eng- 
land. According  to  the  statistics  gathered  in  1907,  found  in  Table 
III.,  p.  289,  of  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Chief  Inspector  for  Fac- 
tories in  1911,  there  were  the  following  number  of  workers  in  British 
factories: 


Males. 

Females. 

Total. 

England  and  Wales  

2,736,214 

1,500,836 

4,227,050 

Scotland        

423,392 

236,664 

660,056 

Ireland                            

125,262 

114,741 

240,003 

Total  in  United  Kingdom    

3,274,868 

1,852,241 

5,127,109 

According  to  the  report  of  1912  there  were  117,275  factories 
and  155,697  workshops,  272,972  establishments  in  all. 

Number  of  Industrial  Establishments  and  Workers  in  France. 
According  to  a  census  made  in  1911  there  were  in  France  a  total 
of  507,557  industrial  establishments,  classified  as  follows: 


No.  of  Persons. 

No.  of 
Establishments. 

Per  Cent. 

Establishments  having  from  1  to  5  persons 

402  186 

79  25 

Establishments  having  from  6  to  20  persons  .... 
Establishments  having  from  21  to  100  persons.  .  . 
Establishments  having  from  101  to  500  persons  . 
Establishments  having  more  than  500  persons.  .  . 

74,567 
24,763 
5,433 
608 

14.68 
4.88 
1.07 
0.12 

The  following  table  shows  the  age  and  sex  of  the  4,258,617 
workers  and  employes  in  establishments  subject  to  the  supervision 
of  the  inspectors  of  labor: 

Males  under  18  years 336,140  7.8 

Females  under  18  years 286,578  6.7 

Females  over  18  years 914,214  21 .4 

Males  over  18  years 2,721,785  64.1 

Total 4,258,617 

Number  of  Industrial  Establishments  and  Workers  in  Austria. 
The  industrial  population  of  Austria  was  in  1901,  4,149,320.  The 
total  number  of  establishments  was  estimated  at  1,000,000  in 
1909,  with  a  total  working  population  of  2,351,446  in  1901. 
There  were,  however,  only  151,903  industrial  establishments  subject 


38  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

to  inspection  in  1911,  of  which  only  16,181  were  designated  as 
factories.  • 

Number  of  Industrial  Establishments  and  Workers  in  Belgium. 
In  Belgium  there  are  about  80,000  industrial  establishments  with 
over  800,000  workers. 

Number  of  Industrial  Establishments  and  Workers  in  Prussia. 
In  Prussia  there  were  169,606  industrial  establishments  in  1912, 
with  at  least  ten  workers  in  each  establishment.  In  these  estab- 
lishments there  were  working  3,579,771  persons. 

Number  of  Industrial  Establishments  and  Workers  in  Germany. 
According  to  a  table  of  the  International  Labor  Office,  there  were 
264,431  factories  and  93,871  workshops  in  the  whole  of  Germany 
in  1909,  with  a  working  population  of  nearly  five  and  one-half 
million  persons. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  WORKPLACE 

TYPES,  CONSTRUCTION  AND  MODEL  FACTORIES 

Types.  A  century  and  a  half  of  the  new  economic  system  of 
production  has  passed  and  has  inevitably  brought  about  profound 
changes  in  the  industrial  and  political  development  of  the  civilized 
world.  During  this  period  giant  strides  have  been  made  in  indus- 
trial expansion,  and  wonderful  discoveries  in  the  domain  of  the 
physical  sciences.  Invention  has  been  followed  by  invention  and 
greater  economic  progress  made  within  this  comparatively  short 
period  than  during  the  whole  history  of  mankind.  Methods  of 
production  have  been  completely  revolutionized  and  industrial  con- 
trol concentrated  in  the  hands  of  a  special  class;  while  a  large 
portion  of  the  population  has  been  converted  into  a  great  standing 
army  of  a  new  class — that  of  the  industrial  proletariat. 

Since  the  birth  of  the  new  era  many  changes  have  taken  place 
in  the  character  of  industrial  control,  in  the  methods  of  competition, 
and  in  the  very  conception  cf  industry  and  trade.  Feverish  activ- 
ity, fierce  competition,  the  idea  that  the  whole  scheme  of  industrial 
activity  was  destined  to  pass  like  a  nightmare,  fear  of  state  interfer- 
ence, and  the  philosophy  of  laissez  faire  have  given  way  to  a  pro- 
found conviction  that  the  new  system  has  come  to  stay,  that  the 
largest,  most  concentrated  and  most  efficient  forms  of  industry 
are  bound  to  survive,  and  that  industry  may  prosper  and  trade 
succeed  quite  as  well  under  state  control  as  without  it.  ___ 

This  changed  attitude  has  been  reflected  in  important  changes  > 
in  the  character  of  the   workplace   itself,  in  the    development   of 
large  industrial   establishments,   and  different   conceptions   of   the 
requirements  of  the  modern  factory  and  workshop. 

The  petty  stinting  and  miserly  economy  of  the  first  factory 
owners  are  no  longer  considered  indispensable  to  industrial  success. 
The  herding  of  workers  in  dingy,  dark,  dreary  shops,  in  flimsy  and 

39 


40 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


THE  WORKPLACE 


41 


I 

be. 


42  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

ramshackle  structures  is  no  longer  considered  economical.  The 
new  science  of  "  industrial  efficiency  "  teaches  that  there  was  no 
economy  in  the  previous  methods  of  treating  factory  workers;  that 
industrial  prosperity  and  commercial  success  are  compatible  with 
decent  workplaces,  humane  working  conditions,  and  considerate 
treatment  of  employes. 

This  latest  conception  of  the  workplace  is  unfortunately  not 
universal;  and  among  the  thousands  and  hundred  thousand  work- 
shops and  factories,  there  is  great  diversity  in  the  type  of  construc- 
tion and  the  character  of  the  workplace.  Side  by  side  with  the 
model  factory,  with  all  the  latest  improvements  and  the  most 
recent  examples  of  welfare  work,  we  still  find  the  ancient  handi- 
craft workshop  in  the  tenement  or  converted  building,  and  nearby, 
•  perhaps  also  an  example  of  the  primitive  loom  shop  in  the  tenement 
districts  of  European  cities. 

There  are  four  distinct  types  of  workplaces  which  may  be  dis- 
tinguished in  industrial  centers  in  all  countries.  These  are  (1) 
the  domestic  workplace,  (2)  the  handicraft  workshop,  (3)  the  mul- 
tiple workplace  or  so-called  loft  building,  and  (4)  the  special  factory. 
Each  of  these  types  of  workplace  deserves  separate  consideration. 

The  Domestic  Workplace.  The  domestic  workshop,  variously 
designated  as  sweatshop,  home  or  tenement  shop,  consists  of  a  room 
or  rooms  or  places  where  any  work  for  outsiders  is  done  by  members 
of  the  family  living  therein,  with  or  without  the  aid  of  their 
dependents  and  children. 

There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  character  of  the  modern 
domestic  workshop  and  the  domestic  workplace  of  primitive  economy, 
or  even  the  industrial  cottage  of  the  pre-factory  period.  In  the 
primitive  domestic  workplace,  work  was  carried  on  by  the  members 
of  the  family,  slaves  and  dependents,  only  for  the  satisfaction  of 
the  family  needs.  In  the  old  cottage  industries  of  England  and 
other  countries  the  work  was  done  for  capitalists  who  furnished  the 
material;  but  the  methods  of  work,  of  distribution,  and  wage  pay- 
ment, were  totally  different  from  those  prevailing  in  the  sweatshop. 

The  sweatshop  is  the  overflowing  cesspool  of  modern  factory 
production.  In  it  are  performed  the  finishing  touches  and  processes, 
which,  by  reason  of  their  simplicity  or  cheapness,  may  be  dene  in 
the  home  by  children,  by  women  or  by  men  thrown  upon  the  indus- 
trial scrap  heap. 

The  work  performed  in  the  home  workshops  is  usually  limited 
to  certain  industries  and  branches  of  trade.  The  lace  homework 


THE  WORKPLACE  43 

of  Brussels,  the  embroidery  industry  of  Switzerland,  the  tobacco, 
cigar  and  cigarette  homework  of  certain  parts  of  Germany,  the 
sweatshop  belt  of  London,  and  the  tenement  home  workers  in  the 
clothing  trade  of  the  East  Side  of  New  York  are  examples  of 
industrial  homework.  There  are,  however,  few  branches  of  industry 
in  which  there  is  not  more  or  less  homework  existing  side  by  side 
with  general  factory  production. 

In  a  thorough  investigation  made  by  the  New  York  State  Factory 
Investigating  Commission,   the   following    six    classes    of    industry 


N.  Y.  Factory  Commission. 
A  Home  Workshop:    Picking  Nuts  for  the  Trade. 

are  mentioned  as  those  in  which  homework  was  found:  (1)  cloth- 
ing, millinery,  including  artificial  flowers,  feathers,  etc.,  (2)  textiles, 
(3)  fur  and  leather  goods,  (4)  paper  boxes,  etc.,  (5)  food  and  tobacco, 
and  (6)  miscellaneous  industries.* 

"  Homework  has  been  discovered  in  some  process  of  manufac- 
ture in  each  of  these  large  divisions.  The  extent  of  it  cannot  be 
stated,  but  it  is  of  the  utmost  significance  that  the  system  has  found 
its  way  in  so  many  industries." 

*  Second  Report  of  Factory  Investigating  Commission,  1913,  vol   i.,    p.  92. 


44  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

In  the  last  report  of  the  chief  inspector  of  England,  the  follow- 
ing trades  are  mentioned  as  those  in  which  "  outworkers  "  were 
found:  wearing  apparel,  household  linen,  lace  curtains,  etc.,  furni- 
ture and  upholstery,  lacquer  plating,  file  making,  brass  and  brass 
articles,  fork  tuning,  cables  and  chains,  anchors  and  grapnels,  locks, 
latches  and  keys,  artificial  flowers,  nets,  tents,  rackets  and  tennis 
balls,  paper  bags  and  boxes,  brush  making,  feather  sorting,  carding 
of  buttons,  stuffed  toys,  basket  making,  etc. 

As  to  the  extent  of  homework,  the  number  of  domestic  work- 
shops and  the  total  number  of  persons  engaged  in  homework, 
only  a  general  estimate  can  be  made,  as  there  is  little  reliable  data  and 
no  general  statistics.  One  of  the  investigators  of  the  New  York 
State  Factory  Commission,  states  that 

"  At  the  present  time  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  with  any  degree 
of  accuracy  the  number  of  people  engaged  in  homework  in  New  York 
City.  If  the  figures  obtained  form  any  basis  for  computation, 
the  number  of  homeworkers  must  run  into  the  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands." * 

According  to  the  same  report,  New  York  State  permits  forty- 
one  articles  to  be  manufactured  in  tenements,  and  sixty-six  addi- 
tional articles  were  found  made  in  tenement  houses  without  the 
sanction  of  the  law.f  There  are  at  present  over  15,000  licensed  tene- 
ments in  New  York  State,  in  every  apartment  of  which  homework 
may  be  done.  According  to  Miss  Van  Kleek,  "there  are  7000  home- 
workers  in  the  artificial  flower  and  feather  trade,  and  they  are  more 
numerous  than  employes  in  the  shops."  t 

In  eighteen  embroidery  firms  investigated,  an  average  of  103 
homeworkers  per  firm  was  found.  On  this  basis  there  are  51,500 
embroidery  workers  in  New  York  City  alone. §  According  to  a 
Federal  report, 

"  Nowhere  are  there  accurate  statistics  to  indicate  the  extent  of 
home  finishing  or  other  homework.  It  is  resorted  to  more  exten- 
sively in  New  York  and  more  proportionately  in  Chicago  than 
elsewhere.  There  are  solid  blocks  in  New  York  where  by  actual 
count  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  apartments  contain  home 
finishers."  || 

*  Second  Report  of  the  Factory  Investigating  Commission,  vol.  ii.,  p.  677. 
t  Idem,  p.  678. 

j  Van  Kleeck:   The  Artificial  Flower  Trade,  p.  90. 
§  Second  Report,    Factory  Investigating  Commission,  vol.  ii..  p.  677. 

||  Report  on  Condition  of  Women  and  Child  Wage-Earners    in    United    States,    vol.  ii., 
p.  218. 


THE  WORKPLACE  45 

Nor  is  the  extent  of  homework  limited  to  large  cities  only. 
Smaller  cities  and  even  rural  communities  are  not  free  from  it. 
In  the  New  York  investigation,  referred  to  before,  homework  was 
found  in  small  communities  like  Little  Falls,  Gloversville,  etc.,  and 
there  are  many  places  outside  of  large  cities  where  homework  is 
prevalent. 

In  England,  figures  are  given  showing  103,958  outworkers  for 
the  year  1912,  who  are  employed  by  12,111  employers.*  In 
France,  in  Belgium,  in  Austria  and  other  countries  where  home- 


N.  Y.  Factory  Commission^ 

A  Home  Workshop:    Wrapping  Candy  in  a  New  York  Tenement. 

work  is  entirely  uncontrolled,  no  data  exists  to  show  the  extent  of 
homework  or  the  number  of  domestic  workplaces.  In  Germany, 
where  a  law  has  lately  been  passed  regulating  homework,  no  general 
census  has  as  yet  been  made.  The  Hirsch  Dunker  Unions,  with  a 
membership  of  about  100,000,  report  4800  homeworkers.f  About 
35,000  homeworkers  in  the  tobacco  trade  are  organized  in  unions, 
and  between  2000  and  3000  in  the  metal  trades  of  Solingen.t 

*  Annual  Report,  Chief  Inspector  of  Factories  and  Workshops,  1912,  p.  247. 
t  Kaethe  Gaebel,  Die  Heimatarbeit,  p.  77. 
;  Ibid,  p.  72. 


46  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  character  of  the  home  work-place  has  been  vividly  described 
in  the  many  reports  made  of  sweatshop  work  within  the  last  decade. 
The  workplace  is  usually  one  of  the  two  or  three  rooms  of  a  tene- 
ment house,  the  kitchen  or  bedroom,  as  a  rule,  where  the  family 
not  only  works,  but  eats,  sleeps  at  night,  and  sometimes  harbors 
lodgers  and  boarders.  The  light,  ventilation  and  cleanliness  of 
these  home  workshops  are  those  of  all  tenement  rooms  and  apart- 
ments in  overcrowded  and  unsanitary  districts. 

Among  the  thoroughly  substantiated  evils  of  homework  are  the 
following:  unsanitary  condition  of  the  premises,  infection  of  the 
workers  and  their  families  by  the  materials  and  articles  on  which 
they  work,  the  possibility  of  contamination  of  these  articles  by  the 
germs  and  diseases  so  prevalent  among  the  families  of  homeworkers, 
and  the  spread  of  infection  by  these  means  to  the  public,  the  unre- 
stricted hours  of  work  for  women,  the  frequent  prolonged  and 
arduous  work  at  night,  the  participation  of  the  children  in  the 
work,  the  competition  with  factory  work  and  consequent  lowering 
of  the  wages  of  the  workers  in  the  regular  factory  and  work- 
shop. 

The  English  report  states  that  in  2478  instances  the  premises 
were  unwholesome,  and  in  768  cases  the  premises  were  infected  with 
disease.* 

The  report  of  the  New  York  Factory  Commission  already  referred 
to,  cites  examples  of  work  participated  in  by  whole  families,  some 
members  of  which  were  stricken  with  scarlet  fever  and  other  infec- 
tious diseases.  Tuberculosis,  the  scourge  of  the  tenement  house, 
is  often  found  among  homeworkers.  Mortality  and  morbidity 
statistics  distinctly  show  the  greater  death  and  disease  rate  among 
the  tenement-house  population,  especially  in  overcrowded  home- 
working  districts. 

The  evils  of  homework  and  the  foul  conditions  of  domestic 
workshops  present  important  problems  to  the  legislatures  of  civil- 
ized countries.  Drastic  remedies  are  sought,  and  the  abolition  of 
the  whole  system  of  homework  has  been  advocated. 

The  Workshop.  From  statistical  data  it  appears  that  the  whole 
industrial  activity  of  the  present  time,  apart  from  homework,  is 
not  concentrated  in  the  large  factory,  but  is  also  carried  on  in  the 
small  workshops  so  prevalent  in  every  industrial  community. 

Some  of  the  statistics  quoted  in  the  last  chapter  showed  that 
in  England  the  majority  of  workplaces  belonged  to  the  "  work- 

*  Annual  Report  of  Inspector  of  Factories,  1912,  p.  247. 


THE  WOEKPLACE 


47 


shop"  class;  that  there  were  155,697  of  these,  or  over  57.03  per  cent 
of  the  total  number  of  industrial  establishments. 

In  France,  out  of  the  507,557  industrial  establishments,  there 
were  not  less  than  402,186  or  79.25  per  cent  of  workshops  having 
only  between  one  and  five  persons  working  therein,  showing  the  over- 
whelming number  of  industrial  establishments  belonging  to  the  so- 
called  "  Petit  Industrie." 

In  Austria,  out  of  151,903  industrial  establishments  subject  to 


N.  Y.  Factory  Commission. 
Picking  Rags  in  a  Cellar  Workshop. 


inspection  in  1911,  only  16,181  or  10.65  per  cent  were  designated  as 
factories. 

In  Prussia,  the  industrial  establishments  which  are  regarded  as 
subject  to  inspection  are  only  those  which  have  at  least  ten  workers; 
and  in  the  whole  of  Germany  there  were  93,871  workshops,  with 
the  probability  that  a  large  number  of  small  workshops  were  not 
included  in  the  enumeration. 

The  small  workshop,  therefore,  is  more  frequently  found  than 
the  large  factory,  and  a  large  part  of  industrial  activity  is  being 
performed  outside  of  the  large  modern  factory. 


48  THE  MODEEN  FACTORY 

The  type  of  the  workshop  differs  according  to  the  industry, 
locality  and  many  other  factors.  Few  of  the  workshops  are  of  a 
character  similar  to  the  old  handicraft  workshop,  so  characteristic 
of  the  guild  era.  In  the  large  cities  as  well  as  in  smaller  communities, 
workshops  are  found  located  in  little  shops  on  the  ground  floors 
or  in  basements  and  cellars  of  houses  in  which  one  man,  sometimes 
with  an  apprentice,  is  doing  his  own  work  for  his  own  customers. 
This  is  the  case  with  the  cobblers,  dressmakers,  custom  tailors, 
blacksmiths,  etc.  There  are  also  other  shops  where  work  is  carried 
on  for  large  manufacturers  in  which  a  number  of  workers  are 
employed.  This  is  found  in  clothing,  baking  and  kindred  in- 
dustries, in  which  the  shops  occupy  stores  or  ground  floor  apart- 
ments of  tenements  and  small  buildings. 

Most  of  these  workshops,  whether  they  belong  to  the  first  or 
second  type,  number  but  few  workers,  and  contain  little  machinery. 
The  principal  evils  of  these  small  workshops  are  the  difficulty  of 
their  control,  the  adverse  economic  conditions  under  which  the 
operatives  work,  and  bad  sanitary  conditions. 

It  is  a  most  difficult  matter  to  control  the  smaller  kind  of  work- 
shop, since  in  most  cases  the  authorities  know  nothing  of  their 
existence.  They  grow  like  mushrooms,  change  and  disappear  with 
a  kaleidoscopic  rapidity,  and  their  control  is  one  of  the  most  dif- 
ficult problems  of  modern  factory  inspection. 

However,  apart  from  the  difficulty  of  control,  which  is  merely 
a  question  of  the  efficiency  of  the  inspection  service,  conditions  in 
the  small  workshop  may  be  as  excellent  as  those  in  the  largest  model 
factory.  In  many  ways,  indeed,  the  small  workshop  has  its  advan- 
tages. There  is  less  monotony  in  the  work,  more  chance  for  the 
worker's  initiative  and  an  absence  of  that  military  discipline  neces- 
sitated by  large  scale  industry.  Friendly  relations  are  apt  to 
exist  between  the  workers,  and  the  workers  and  the  employer,  who 
shares  in  their  labor.  In  the  small  shops  in  skilled  trades,  where 
skill  and  finish  rather  than  speed  and  quantity  are  required,  the  wages 
are  high  and  hours  not  excessive. 

By  far  the  largest  number  of  these  workshops  are  located  on  the 
ground  floors  of  tenements  and  dwellings  in  the  busy  streets  of 
industrial  centers,  in  the  dark  and  dingy  rooms  back  of  stores  and 
salesrooms,  and  frequently  indeed  in  the  cellars  and  basements. 
This  is  especially  characteristic  of  certain  industries,  notably  the 
bakery  and  confectionery  trades.  In  all  cities  a  large  number  of 
bakeries  and  confectionery  shops  are  found  on  the  ground  floors, 


THE  WORKPLACE 


49 

§ 


50  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

and  the  manufacture  for  these  shops  is,  as  a  rule,  done  in  under- 
ground bake-houses  in  the  basements  and  cellars  under  the  stores. 
In  my  investigation  of  bakeries  in  New  York  State,  I  found  nearly 
four  thousand  bakeries  in  New  York  City  located  in  cellars  and 
low  basements,  and  the  same  conditions  prevail,  though  not  quite  to 
such  an  extent  in  Berlin,  Vienna,  London,  Brussels,  and  especially 
Paris,  where  baking  is  done  not  only  in  cellars,  but  in  deep  sub-cellars. 
This  evil  is  perhaps  characteristic  only  of  the  large  cities,  like 
Chicago,  New  York,  etc.  Nevertheless,  the  number  of  basement 
and  cellar  workshops  in  the  bakery  and  confectionery  trade  as  well 
as  some  other  trades  is  exceedingly  large. 

The  reasons  for  considering  underground  workplaces  unsani- 
tary have  been  set  forth  in  many  official  reports,  and  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows: 

"  A  cellar  is  an  unfit  place  for  the  manufacture  of  food  stuffs, 
or  for  the  habitation  of  workers.  There  cannot  be  any  natural  light 
in  a  cellar  under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  and  no  place  can  be 
sanitary  that  lacks  sunlight.  Cellars  are  the  most  difficult  places 
to  ventilate  unless  mechanical  ventilation  is  installed,  which  is  out 
of  the  question  in  the  ordinary  small  bakery.  Cellars  in  which 
bakeries  are  located  cannot  have  a  temperature  which  is  healthy 
for  workers;  they  are  too  near  the  ground  and  the  emanation  from 
the  ground,  and  the  ovens  and  the  heated  atmosphere  needed  for 
dough  raising,  make  it  almost  impossible  for  cellar  bakeries  to 
have  a  moderate  and  equable  temperature  in  the  absence  of  proper 
ventilation.  Cellars  cannot  be  kept  clean  as  other  parts  of  the  house, 
for  they  are  semi-dark,  contain  most  of  the  plumbing  pipes  and 
fixtures,  and  are,  as  a  rule,  the  dumping  ground  of  the  whole  house. 
Cellars  are  also  the  natural  habitation  of  insects,  rodents,  etc.,  and 
are  also  in  proximity  to  breeding  places  of  flies,  which  are  attracted 
to  the  food  stuffs."  * 

Tenant  Factories.  In  large  industrial  centers  a  number  of 
workplaces  are  located  in  the  so-called  multiple  workshop  build- 
ings, which  have  developed  within  the  last  decade  or  more.  These 
workshops  consist  of  separate  floors  or  parts  of  floors,  located  in 
buildings  which  contain  a  number  of  workshops.  Sometimes  the 
building  in  which  these  workshops  are  located  is  one  that  was 
formerly  used  as  a  tenement  or  dwelling,  and  which  has  become 
too  dilapidated  for  living  purposes;  and  has  then  been  converted, 
by  breaking  up  the  partitions  and  altering  the  construction,  into  a 
workshop  building.  More  frequently  these  shops  are  located  in 

*New  York  State  Factory  -Investigating  Commission,  First  Report,  Vol.  i.,  p.  235. 


THE  WORKPLACE 


51 


PQ 

I 

03 
.£ 

§ 

O 


.52 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


buildings  specially  constructed  for  this  purpose,  which  are  known 
as  loft  buildings. 

Loft   construction   is   a   recent   development    in   the   industrial 


life  of  a  city.     It  is  a  result  of  the  congestion  of  an  immense  popula- 
tion on  a  small  area.     In  New  York  City  alone,  between  1901  and 
1910,  on  Manhattan  Island  in  a  certain  limited  district,  not  less  than 
800  loft  buildings  were  erected  from  eight  to  twenty  stories  in  height. 


THE  WORKPLACE  53 

The  loft  building  is  found  not  only  in  New  York,  but  is  beginning 
to  make  its  appearance  also  in  smaller  cities;  and  cities  of  the  first 
and  second  class  are  now  beginning  to  consider  the  problem  of 
curbing  and  controlling  loft  building  and  multiple  shop  construc- 
tion. Of  the  thirty  thousand  odd  industrial  establishments  in  New 
York  City,  by  far  the  largest  number  are  located  in  loft  buildings. 
Whole  industries  of  a  certain  character  are  almost  entirely  located 
in  loft  buildings.  Thus,  83.80  per  cent  of  all  the  shops  in  the  cloak 
and  suit  industry,  and  94.34  per  cent  of  all  the  workers  are  found 
in  loft  buildings.  This  is  even  more  the  case  in  the  dress  and 
waist  industry.  Almost  96  per  cent  of  the  shops,  and  not  less  than 
98.57  per  cent  of  the  workers  in  this  industry,  are  in  the  same  kind 
of  building.* 

How  large  a  percentage  of  the  workshops  of  industries,  especially 
in  New  York  City,  are  located  in  loft  buildings  may  be  gathered  from 
these  facts  as  well  as  from  the  figures  in  the  table  given  below: 

Clothing  shops  in  lofts 74 . 8% 

Fur  shops  in  lofts 58 . 9% 

Printing  in  lofts 57 . 5% 

Paper  bags  and  boxes  in  lofts 54. 3% 

Tobacco  in  lofts 52 . 6% 

Flowers  and  feathers  in  lofts 52 . 0%  f 

The  problem  of  loft  shops  has  been  the  theme  of  recent  in- 
vestigations in  New  York  State,  and  the  subject  was  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  world  by  the  shocking  catastrophes  of  Newark, 
the  Asch  Building  fire  and  the  Binghamton  calamity,  all  of  these 
occurring  between  1911  and  1913. 

The  fire  dangers  and  lack  of  fire  protection  in  the  loft  buildings 
are  perhaps  the  most  damning  objections  to  multiple  shops.  This 
form  of  workshop,  however,  is  characteristic  only  of  a  few  large 
industrial  cities,  and  there  are  indications  that  its  spread  will  soon 
be  limited. 

Special  Factories.  In  the  largest  and  most  important  indus- 
trial countries,  by  far  the  greater  percentage  of  industrial  activity 
and  production  is  carried  on  in  the  modern  factory.  By  the  term 
modern  factory  is  meant  "  a  structure  or  building  which  is  con- 
structed and  maintained  for  the  special  industrial  activity  to  be 
carried  on  therein."  Statistics  are  lacking  as  to  the  proportion 

*  Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control,  pp.  55  and  59. 

t  Second  Report  of  New  York  Factory  Investigating  Commission,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  423-424. 


54  THE  MODEEN  FACTORY 

of  industry  carried  on  in  the  special  factory,  although  there  is  some 
information  as  to  the  number  of  special  factories  as  distinguished 
from  the  smaller  workshops.  In  an  investigation  made  in  New 
York  State,  it  was  found  that  of  the  2500  investigated  establish- 
ments in  the  different  industries,  the  following  per  cent  of  industries 
were  carried  on  in  special  factory  buildings: 

Gloves. 90.9% 

Textiles 84.0% 

Chemicals,  paints  and  illuminatives 83 . 5% 

Woodwork 82.0% 

Stone  and  glass 78 . 9% 

Hats  and  caps 65.7%* 

The  carrying  on  of  work  in  special  factories  by  the  aid  of 
machinery  and  motive  power  is,  of  course,  largely  determined  by 
the  industry  itself  and  by  the  character  of  the  industry.  Wher- 
ever in  an  industry  no  large  machinery  or  permanent  plant  is  neces- 
sary, where  individual  machines  are  used,  where  the  division  of  labor 
is  not  too  great,  and  where  the  material  production  is  not  too  bulky 
the  work  may  be  carried  on  in  smaller  shops,  and  not  necessarily 
in  specially  constructed  or  fitted  workplaces.  Certain  industries, 
such  as  textiles,  large  metal  industries,  flour  and  paper  mills,  are 
carried  on  largely  in  special  buildings  and  factories. 

It  is  difficult  to  obtain  a  census  of  the  industrial  plants  in  a 
state  or  country.  There  is,  as  yet,  especially  in  the  United  States, 
a  general  neglect  of  this  important  subject.  Nor  is  there  any 
general  system  of  registering  industrial  plants;  and  most  of  the 
statistics  of  industrial  establishments  are  based  upon  the  decennial 
census  enumerations,  which  are  not  always  reliable.  It  is  only 
lately  that  several  states,  notably  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and 
Massachusetts,  have  passed  laws  requiring  the  registration  of  all 
industrial  establishments;  and  it  was  only  during  the  latter  part  of 
1913  that  New  York  State  issued  an  industrial  directory. 

In  some  European  countries  this  work  is  thoroughly  organized. 
England  has  a  complete  registration  of  all  factories  and  workshops; 
Germany,  Belgium  and  Austria  have  not  only  a  registration  law, 
but  also  an  authorization  or  licensing  provision  for  certain  kinds 
of  industrial  establishments. 

In  most  countries,  the  evils  of  unrestricted  and  unregulated 
construction  of  dwelling  and  tenement  houses  have  already  been 

*  Second  Report  of  New  York  Factory  Investigating  Commission,  vol.  ii.,  p.  434. 


THE  WORKPLACE 


55 


r 


56  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

fully  recognized.  The  unregulated  construction  of  habitations, 
especially  in  the  large  industrial  centers,  has  led  to  a  great  many 
abuses;  to  the  crowding  of  houses  upon  full  lots,  leaving  no  space 
for  light  and  ventilation,  and  to  so  many  great  evils  that  for  the  last 
decade  or  more  serious  attempts  have  been  made  in  most  of  the 
cities  of.  the  civilized  world  to  curb  the  cupidity  of  landlords,  to 
regulate  construction  of  tenement  houses,  and  to  compel  all  builders 
of  new  houses  to  present  their  plans  to  the  city  authorities  and  to 
follow  certain  stipulated  rules  and  regulations  for  house  building, 
as  well  as  to  compel  them  to  make  improvements  in  houses  already 
constructed.  As  a  rule,  the  local  authorities  in  each  town  or  city 
supervise  the  construction  of  tenement  and  dwelling  houses.  There 
are  strict  regulations  as  to  the  height  of  the  building,  percentage  of 
lot  it  may  occupy,  percentage  of  lot  which  is  to  be  left  entirely  free 
and  unbuilt  upon,  the  strength  of  walls  and  floors,  the  size  of  the 
rooms  and  apartments,  the  installation  of  sanitary  conveniences 
within  the  house,  the  size  of  the  windows,  etc.  All  these  regu- 
lations naturally  have  led  to  great  improvements  in  housing  con- 
ditions in  the  large  cities,  and  have  been  of  incalculable  benefit  to 
the  town  population,  especially  the  working  class. 

There  is  as  yet  hardly  any  regulation  in  reference  to  the  building 
of  factories  and  industrial  establishments.  This  is  left  to  the 
\vhim  and  will  of  the  owner  and  his  more  or  less  competent  architect. 

In  some  countries,  notably  in  Germany  and  Austria,  each  manu- 
facturer in  certain  specified  industries  must  receive  an  authoriza- 
tion before  beginning  work  in  a  particular  establishment.  There 
is  then  an  earnest  scrutiny  made  of  the  kind  of  building  intended 
for  such  an  establishment;  and  architects,  physicians  and  factory 
inspectors  are  obliged  to  go  over  every  detail  of  the  plans  for  con- 
struction and  installation  and  point  out  to  the  owner  and  his  archi- 
tects the  requirements  necessary  to  the  health,  comforts,  and  lives 
of  the  workers.  This  is  a  wise  procedure,  based  upon  the  well- 
known  adage  of  the  superiority  of  an  ounce  of  prevention  over  a 
pound  of  cure;  for  it  is  evident  that  a  great  many  of  the  evils  found 
in  most  industrial  establishments  could  have  been  easily  prevented 
by  taking  a  little  care  before  beginning  to  build. 

Certain  specially  dangerous  industries,  particularly  those  where 
explosives  are  manufactured,  must  be  located  in  an  isolated  spot. 
Other  industries,  especially  those  which,  for  one  reason  or  another, 
may  become  offensive  to  the  neighborhood,  must  be  located  at  a 
distance  from  habitable  quarters  of  cities  and  towns;  while  others 


THE  WORKPLACE  57 

must  be  located  near  sources  of  power  or  within  the  city  or  towns 
because  of  the  peculiar  requirements  of  the  industry. 

Hence,  on  examining  the  factories  and  workplaces  of  differ- 
ent industries,  one  is  struck  by  the  general  diversity  of  structures 
peculiar  to  each  industry;  factories  and  mills  belonging  to  the 
textile  trade  are  entirely  different  in  their  characteristics  and  type 
of  construction  from  chemical  establishments,  or  metal,  or  wood- 
working establishments;  not  only  each  industry  but  each  city,, 
each  country  and  each  locality  presents  its  own  type  of  factory,  mill 
or  workplace. 

The  site  of  a  special  factory  depends  in  each  case  upon  the  needs 
of  the  particular  establishment  to  be  constructed.  Among  the  many 
factors  which  are  of  importance  in  the  location  of  a  factory  are 
the  means  of  transportation,  the  proximity  of  markets,  the  provision 
for  expansion,  the  sources  of  power,  and  the  presence  of  a  working 
population. 

The  surroundings  of  a  factory  are  of  some  importance,  although 
this  is  a  matter  which  has  been  greatly  neglected  in  the  past.  Fac- 
tories have  hitherto  been  constructed  with  the  sole  idea  of  utility, 
and  with  no  thought  of  beauty  in  architecture.  The  factories  of 
the  past,  and  too  many  at  the  present  time,  have  no  claim  whatever 
to  any  beauty  in  their  surroundings.  Many  of  them  look  like  peni- 
tentiaries, prisons  and  barracks,  huge,  somber,  dark  and  forbidding, 
darkening  the  surroundings  with  a  pall  of  black  smoke. 

Fortunately,  a  great  change  has  taken  place  in  the  conception 
of  factory  construction  and  surroundings.  Some  of  the  modern 
factories  built  within  the  last  ten  years  present  a  pleasing  appear- 
ance, and  a  great  effort  seems  to  have  been  made  by  the  architects, 
builders  and  owners  to  tone  down  the  forbidding  aspect  of  the  fac- 
tory and  make  it  look  more  pleasant  and  beautiful,  and  to  surround 
it  with  trees,  parks  and  gardens. 

It  is  now  not  exceptional  to  see  splendid  examples  of  factory 
architecture,  model  in  surroundings,  location  and  plant.  Some 
of  the  shining  examples  in  this  respect  are  the  well-known  large 
industrial  plants  of  the  Shredded  Wheat  Company  at  Niagara 
Falls,  the  National  Lamp  Company  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  the  United 
Shoe  Machinery  Manufacturing  Company  at  Beverly,  Mass.,  the 
National  Cash  Register  Company  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  the  Heinz  fac- 
tories at  Pittsburg  and  many  others. 

The  Patterson  Bros.,  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  while  constructing  their 
factory,  called  in  a  landscape  expert  to  help  in  planning  its  grounds. 


58  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

They  had  their  walls  colored  bright  buff  and  machinery  painted 
in  light  colors  instead  of  black.  They  put  palms  in  the  factory 
and  planted  shrubbery  on  the  grounds.  The  General  Electric  Light 


L_ 


L 


Company  in  Schenectady,  decorated  the  main  entrance  to  their 
works  with  tubs  of  flowers,  and  Boston  ivy  was  planted  about  the 
principal  buildings  near  the  entrance.* 


*  Tolman,  Industrial  Betterment,  p.  5. 


THE  WORKPLACE  59 

Abroad,  there  are  also  a  large  number  of  industrial  establish- 
ments well  known  for  their  beautiful  appearance  and  pleasant 
surroundings.  At  Messrs.  Boden's  net  factory  in  Derby,  though 
in  the  heart  of  the  town,  the  windows  look  out  on  courtyards  con- 
taining well-kept  gardens  and  a  gymnasium,  "  the  former  of  which," 
writes  Lord  Meath,  "  would  have  done  credit  to  a  nobleman's 
chateau,  so  neat  and  well  kept  were  their  flower  borders." 

The  factory  of  Messrs.  James  Templeton  &  Company,  carpet 
manufacturers  in  Glasgow,  has  been  rendered  a  thing  of  beauty 
and  an  added  attraction  to  the  neighborhood,  by  being  faced  with 
colored  bricks  after  the  design  of  the  Doge's  Palace  at  Venice.* 

The  Hammerbrot  works  near  Vienna  I  found  in  a  pleasant 
spot  several  miles  distant  from  the  city,  with  beautiful  surroundings. 
The  Leverkusen  factory  of  the  Beyer  Chemical  Company  is  also 
very  beautifully  located. 

Factories  may  be  classified,  according  to  the  materials  used  in 
construction,  as  follows:  (1)  wood  or  frame,  (2)  wood  and  brick, 
(3)  steel  frame  with  brick  or  concrete  walls,  (4)  reinforced  concrete. 

There  are  still  many  special  factories  made  entirely  of  wood 
although  happily  this  is  prohibited  in  most  industrial  towns  and  cities. 
The  frame  factories  we  find  at  present — and  there  are  still  too 
many  of  them — are  structures  built  many  years  ago,  which  have 
changed  their  tenants  many  times,  and  in  which  the  poorer  industries 
and  smaller  establishments  are  housed.  One  industry  especially  seems 
to  have  a  special  predilection  for  frame  factories :  this  is  the  chemical 
industry.  Many  of  the  processes  in  this  industry  require  separate 
buildings;  a  number  of  these  processes  are  dangerous  on  account 
of  dealing  with  explosives,  powerful  acids,  etc.;  so  that  there  seems 
to  be  some  advantage  in  housing  them  in  separate  buildings.  It  is 
pleasant,  however,  to  note  that  most  of  the  newly  constructed 
chemical  factories  have  departed  from  this  practice  and  are  being 
built  of  a  more  durable  material. 

The  second  type  of  construction  cf  special  factories  is  called 
"  mill  construction,"  which  consists  of  a  frame  of  wood  with  brick 
walls.  The  particulars  of  mill  construction  are  as  follows:  the 
frame  joists  and  floors  are  made  of  heavy  timbers,  the  floor  tim- 
bers being  heavy  and  spaced  eight  to  twelve  feet  apart,  the  floors 
made  of  three  to  four-inch  blocks  with  single  or  double  top  boarding. 
The  floors  are  made  tight  and  heavy  and  there  are  no  openings 
in  the  floors  between  one  story  and  another,  all  such  openings  being 

*  Tolman,  Industrial  Betterment,  p.  80. 


60  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

placed  in  specially  constructed  separate  towers.  This  so-calle 
"  mill  construction  "  has  teen  frequently  used,  and  is  especiall 
characteristic  of  the  New  England  textile  mills  as  well  as  some  ( 
the  mills  in  the  middle  and  far  west. 

With  the  increased  cost  of  lumber  and  with  the  decreased  cos 
of  steel,  mill  construction  has  largely  given  way  to  the  type  of  cor 
struction  which  consists  of  a  steel  frame  with  brick  or  concrete  wall; 
In  respect  to  fire  protection,  steel-frame  construction  is  not  muc 
superior  to  mill  construction,  although  more  suitable  to  factorie 
in  large  towns  and  cities.  A  material  largely  used  in  mod< 
factories  is  reinforced  concrete,  which  is  so  far  the  best  fc 
industrial  buildings. 

The  history  of  plain  concrete  dates  back  to  prehistoric  time! 
It  was  used  in  the  ancient  cities  of  Egypt,  Greece  and  Rome;  fc 
Roman  aqueducts  and  Roman  roads,  and  its  great  durability  i 
proved  by  the  remains  existing  up  to  the  present  day. 

Reinforced  concrete,  meaning  by  this  the  introduction  of  iro 
and  steel  into  the  aggregate  of  the  concrete,  is  said  to  be  abou 
seventy  years  old,  although  commercially  it  is  only  for  about  fiftee 
or  twenty  years  that  industrial  buildings  have  been  constructed  c 
reinforced  concrete.  One  of  the  reasons  for  using  reinforced  cor 
crete  is  the  necessity  for  fireproofing  structural  steel,  such  as  is  foun 
in  the  modern  skyscraper  office  and  loft  buildings  in  the  large  citie: 
A  great  many  factories  are  constructed  almost  wholly  of  reinforce 
concrete,  which  is  at  present  accepted  as  the  ideal  materi* 
for  this  type  of  structure.  The  cost  of  reinforced  concrete  i 
considerably  less  than  structural  steel.  Concrete  buildings  ar 
more  fireproof  than  buildings  made  of  any  other  material;  they  ar 
strong,  safe,  fire  and  vermin  proof,  may  be  adapted  for  variou 
designs  and  requirements,  and  can  be  so  constructed  as  to  giv 
the  most  light,  best  heat  and  be  exceedingly  sanitary  in  all  respects 
Factories  made  of  reinforced  concrete  carry  a  lower  accident  insui 
ance  rate  than  buildings  of  other  materials,  and  their  fire-resistin 
character  has  been  proven  many  times.  One  of  the  constructio: 
firms  doing  considerable  work  in  erecting  modern  factories  c 
reinforced  concrete,  has  the  following  to  say  as  to  the  advantage 
of  this  form  of  building: 

"  In  the  design  of  factory  buildings  of  reinforced  concrete,  th 
following  points  are  generally  taken  care  of:  actual  fire  prevention 
as  far  as  modern  knowledge  goes,  notably  smokeproof  stairways 
concrete  or  tile  partitions  around  all  stair  and  elevator  walls;  con 


THE  WORKPLACE 


61 


crete,  brick,  or  tile  fire  walls,  reducing  the  floor  space  areas  to  opera- 
ting minimum,  concrete  stairs,  etc.  The  floors  of  concrete  are  clean, 
not  especially  hard  to  work  on,  are  sanitary  in  that  cement  is  a  lime 
product  and,  therefore,  inherently  sanitary.  The  floors  may  be 


o 


washed  down  weekly.  Vermin  are  excluded.  Ventilation  and  light 
are  at  the  maximum,  owing  to  the  adaptability  of  concrete  to  any 
kind  of  a  design.  One  of  the  greatest  benefits  rendered  the  owner  is  the 
reduction  of  any  tendency  toward  panic  on  the  part  of  the  employes. 


r 


62  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

It  has  been  found  that  in  these  model  fireproof  buildings,  the 
employes  come  to  have  confidence  in  the  fire  resistance  and  load 
carrying  capacity,  and  consequently  are  more  calm  in  emergencies 
than  in  other  types  of  buildings."  * 

The  number  of  stories,,  the  width,  length  and  size  of  the  build- 
ing intended  for  a  factory  or  used  for  such  purposes  are  determined 
by  the  needs  of  the  industry  and  the  many  factors  enumerated 
above.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  European  industrial  estab- 
lishments are  never  more  than  five  stories  in  height,  mostly  two  or 
three  stories,  and  that  many  of  them  are  only  one  story  high.  Such 
a  form  of  construction  is,  of  course,  possible  only  where  land  is  cheap 
and  expansion  possible;  but  the  benefit  derived  from  such  con- 
struction as  far  as  light,  ventilation  and  safety  from  fires  is  con- 
cerned, is  incalculable. 

I  have  seen  a  number  of  factories  abroad  one  story  in  height, 
presenting  a  beautiful  and  comfortable  appearance,  with  the  sky- 
lights giving  splendid  light  inside.  One  of  the  largest  industrial 
establishments  of  its  kind  is  that  of  the  Provodnik  factory  at  Riga, 
Russia,  which  occupies  many  acres  of  ground  and  which  consists 
of  a  series  of  one-story  buildings,  so  arranged  that  the  raw  product 
comes  in  by  trains  on  one  side,  and  the  manufactured  product  is 
shipped  from  the  last  building  on  the  other  side. 

Even  in  the  largest  cities  and  capitals  of  Europe,  industrial  estab- 
lishments over  five  stories  in  height  are  seldom  to  be  seen,  the  height 
being  regulated  by  the  government.  In  the  absence  of  statistics 
it  is  impossible  to  state  the  number  of  special  factories  in  the  United 
States  above  five  stories,  but  there  must  be  a  great  many  of  them.. 
Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  many-storied  loft  buildings. 
The  width  and  length  of  a  building  are  important  in  relation  to 
fire  prevention  and  protection;  and  the  necessity  of  intervening 
fire  walls  for  certain  spaces  will  be  spoken  of  in  the  next  chapter. 

Without  going  into  the  details  of  building  construction  of  fac- 
tories beyond  the  scope  of  this  work,  the  importance  of  the  walls, 
ceilings  and  floors  in  industrial  buildings  should  be  noted  apart 
from  their  load  carrying  capacity,  fire  protection,  thickness, 
and  materials  of  construction.  Of  greater  importance  in  relation 
to  industrial  hygiene  is  the  inner  decoration  and  finishing  of  the 
walls  and  ceiling  surfaces,  especially  in  industries  where  a  large 
amount  of  humidity  is  present,  or  where  steam  is  generated.  An 
absorbent  surface  will  take  in  much  moisture  and  will  be  always 

*  Turner  Construction  Company. 


THE  WORKPLACE 


63 


damp,  while  a  smooth  surfaced  wall  or  ceiling  will  cause  condensation 
of  moisture  and  dripping  on  the  floors  or  on  the  workers.  Where 
there  are  means  of  quickly  drying  the  walls  and  ceilings,  it  is  perhaps 
better  to  have  an  absorbent  surface  than  a  condensing  one.  On  the 
other  hand,  where  such  means  are  absent,  the  evil  of  condensation 
can  only  be  overcome  by  thorough  ventilation  or  by  frequently 
mopping  up  and  wiping  off  the  surfaces. 

In  some  of  the  model  factories  I  have  seen,  notably  in  the  indus- 
trial plant  at  Beyer's  chemical  factory  at  Leverkusen,  the  walls  of 
all  the  shops  are  tiled,  white  and  smooth,  presenting  not  only  a 
beautiful  appearance,  but  giving  surfaces  which  are  easily  cleaned. 

The  character  of  the  inner  wall  surfaces  will,  of  course,  depend 


The  Hammerbrodt  Werk:  A  Socialist  Co-operative  Bakeiy  in  Vienna,  Austria. 


upon  the  character  of  the  building,  the  material  of  construction 
and  the  processes  carried  on  in  it.  Where  the  walls  are  made  of 
wood  and  are  not  plastered  on  the  inside,  it  is  best  to  have  these 
walls  painted  with  an  oil  paint  of  light  color.  Such  walls,  of  course, 
are  very  absorbent  unless  they  are  properly  painted;  and  much 
dust  and  dirt  is  apt  to  lodge  in  the  cracks  and  crevices  inevitable 
in  such  walls.  It  is  better  to  have  the  inner  walls  plastered,  and 
then  have  the  plaster  either  lime-washed,  which  must  be  done 
frequently,  at  least  every  three  months,  or  painted,  which  should 
be  done  at  least  once  a  year.  Where  the  walls  are  of  brick  with 
lime  or  cement  mortar,  it  is  better  not  to  have  any  plaster  surface 
on  the  inside  of  the  wall,  but  to  have  the  bricks  painted  with  an 
oil  paint,  which  makes  sometimes  a  better  covering  than  a  plastered 


64  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

wall,  which  is  apt  to  crack  and  harbor  dust,  dirt,  etc.  Concrete 
walls  or  concrete  and  cement-covered  walls  may  be  treated  in  a 
similar  way. 

Floors  of  factories  are  of  great  hygienic  importance.  Floors 
are  made  of  various  materials,  as  follows:  earth,  wood,  concrete 
cement,  brick,  asphalt  cement  and  concrete.  The  sanitary  require- 
ments of  a  floor  are  that  it  should  be  (1)  non-absorbent,  (2)  not 
too  hard,  (3)  durable,  (4)  not  a  too  good  conductor  of  heat,  and 
(5)  readily  cleaned. 

Non-absorbent  floors  are  especially  necessary  in  factories  where 
there  is  much  moisture  or  where  much  water  is  apt  to  be  spilt  upon 
the  floors.  In  such  factories  an  ordinary  wooden  flooring  is  bad, 
as  it  gets  foul  and  saturated,  and  is  apt  to  keep  the  shoes  and  feet 
of  the  workers  in  a  damp  condition.  A  better  form  of  wooden  floor- 
ing consists  of  one  made  of  narrow  boards  dovetailed,  and  nailed 
on  an  underwooden  floor.  It  is  still. better  to  have  such  a  wooden 
flooring  set  on  an  asphalt  cement,  which  fills  in  the  space  between 
the  boards  and  also  preserves  them  and  prevents  them  from  becom- 
ing watersoaked.  Some  wooden  floors,  especially  in  places  where 
there  is  little  moisture,  may  be  partially  preserved  by  a  coat  of  hot 
oil  or  plain  oil  paint.  The  color  is  also  important,  since  a  light- 
colored  floor  will  show  dirt  and  is  liable  to  be  kept  cleaner  than 
one  of  a  dark  color. 

Besides  the  sanitary  considerations,  one  must  also  take  into 
consideration  the  waterproofing  of  a  floor  in  case  of  fires,  when  it 
is  profitable  to  have  a  floor  which  will  not  let  through  the  large  amount 
of  water  poured  in  a  building  at  that  time.  From  this  point  of  view, 
the  best  form  of  wood  flooring  is  that  made  of  hard  wooden  blocks 
preserved  by  creosote  and  tar,  and  set  in  asphalt  or  asphalt  cement. 

Floors  made  either  of  brick  or  concrete  with  a  cement  top, 
are  apt  to  be  too  cold,  as  they  are  good  conductors  of  heat,  and 
workers  often  complain  that  they  make  their  feet  cold.  Their 
extreme  hardness  is  also  injurious  to  the  workers,  because  constant 
standing  in  one  spot  on  a  very  hard  surface  often  causes  flat  feet 
and  results  in  injuries  to  the  health"  of  the  wrorkers.  Such  floors 
are  also  easily  broken  up  by  the  moving  of  heavy  machinery  into 
ruts,  holes  and  crevices  which  are  apt  to  contain  dirt  and  become 
foul.  The  dust  which  is  created  by  such  floors  is  also  injurious 
to  health. 

Floors  made  of  brick,  set  in  cement  mortar,  or  of  stone  plates, 
or  of  various  sizes  of  tiles  set  in  cement,  are  often  necessary  in  fac- 


THE  WORKPLACE 


65 


tones  where  large  amounts  of  water  are  apt  to  be  spilled  on  the 
floor.  In  such  factories,  the  top  layer  of  the  floor  must  be  laid 
on  a  six-inch  thickness  at  least  of  concrete.  It  is  best  in  such  fac- 


tories  to  have  the  floor  so  graded  as  to  let  the  water  go  down  to  a 
pitch  and  be  drained  either  into  a  properly  trapped,  sewer-con- 
nected drain,  or  into  outside  scoopers.  To  prevent  the  workers 
from  suffering  from  the  coldness  of  such  floors,  it  is  advisable  to 
use  either  rubber  mats,  thick  linoleum  or  wooden  planks  raised  upon 


66  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

blocks.  This  last  method  is  often  used  in  slaughter  houses,  and 
such  other  places  where  much  water  is  apt  to  be  on  the  floor. 

An  asphalt  coating  or  asphalt  cement  top  makes  a  good  floor, 
since  it  is  damp-proof  and  not  so  cold  as  an  ordinary  cement  floor. 
A  linoleum  covering  on  a  floor  is  good  if  the  linoleum  is  of  such 
structure  as  not  to  tear  easily,  and  so  become  insecure  for  walking; 
and  provided  it  is  not  too  slippery. 

In  places  where  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  floor  of  extraordinary 
durability,  special  precautions  are  taken.  A  floor  of  an  electro- 
plating establishment,  which  I  saw  in  a  foundry  at  Berlin,  was 
constructed  as  follows : 

(1)  A  coat  of  10  cm.  of  cement. 

(2)  A  coat  of  bitumen  paper. 

(3)  2  mm.  of  sheet  lead. 

(4)  A  coat  of  bitumen  paper. 

(5)  3  cm.  of  cement. 

(6)  3  cm.  of  Trinidad  asphalt. 

In  new  factories,  the  junction  of  the  floor  with  the  wall,  whether 
on  the  ground  or  near  the  ceiling,  ought  to  be  made  concave,  so  as 
to  prevent  accumulation  of  rubbish  and  dirt  in  the  corners.  When 
cement  floors  are  used,  it  is  easy,  even  in  old  shops,  to  make  such 
concave  surfaces,  which  will  pay  for  themselves  within  a  short  time 
in  the  greater  cleanliness  of  the  shop. 

Internal  Arrangements.  The  construction  of  the  factory  so  as 
to  provide  for  future  expansion,  the  arrangement  of  the  factory  so 
that  each  process  may  follow  the  natural  mode  of  production 
from  the  raw  material  to  the  finished  product,  the  elimination  of 
unnecessary  transportation  and  unnecessary  reversing  of  operations, 
are  all  matters  within  the  province  of  the  efficiency  engineer  and 
architect.  The  hygienist  is  only  interested  in  the  internal  arrange- 
ments, in  the  division  of  the  inside  of  the  factory,  in  the  partitions, 
etc.,  in  so  far  as  they  relate  to  fire  protection,  safety  and  general 
sanitation,  subjects  which  will  be  taken  up  under  their  proper 
headings. 

Model  Factories.  The  conception  of  a  model  factory,  naturally, 
is  not  a  fixed  one,  but  varies  according  to  the  general  economic 
development  and  technical  knowledge  of  the  times.  Factories 
that  were  once  considered  model  in  every  particular  are  so  no  lon- 
ger, as  sanitary  science  and  knowledge  of  the  intimate  relations 
between  work  and  health  advance. 


THE  WORKPLACE  67 

The  legal  requirements  of  any  country  set  forth  only  the  min- 
imum standards  of  construction,  light,  ventilation  and  sanitation. 
Yet,  even  so,  these  minimum  standards  are  an  index  to  the  develop- 
ment of  standards  of  factory  construction.  There  are  probably 
in  Germany,  where  the  legal  requirements  are  highest,  more  factories 
model  in  every  particular  than  in  any  other  country. 

Many  factories  are  considered  model  on  the  strength  of  some 
one  feature,  such  as  an  unusually  fine  lunch-room,  or  wash-room; 
but  are  far  from  model  in  other  respects.  While  such  factories,  by 
drawing  attention  to  their  one  excellence,  may  deceive  the  general 
public,  it  is  more  difficult  to  mislead  those  who  have  had  experience 
in  factory  inspection  and  industrial  conditions.  I  have,  as  a  rule, 
found  that  the  number  of  real  model  plants,  some  of  which 
have  never  been  heard  of,  are  considerable  in  number,  and  are 
to  be  found  all  over  the  states  and  countries.  In  this  respect,  it 
may  be  interesting  to  relate  that  after  several  weeks'  disheartening 
inspection  of  industrial  establishments  in  Western  New  York,  I 
happened  one  afternoon  to  pass  a  plant  in  an  isolated  locality 
outside  of  the  precincts  of  Buffalo.  As  it  was  late  on  Saturday 
afternoon,  I  hesitated  before  entering  this  plant;  but  the  outside 
of  the  plant  made  a  favorable  impression  upon  me  and  I  made 
the  inspection  then  and  there.  One  may  imagine  how  greatly 
surprised  I  was  to  find  in  this  "  piano  keys  and  piano-action  factory  " 
a  real  example  of  what  is  and  should  constitute  a  model  factory, 
one  in  which  industrial  efficiency  was  supreme,  which  was  provided 
with  splendid  appliances  for  ventilation,  where  the  wood  and  saw- 
dust from  all  machinery  was  drawn  in  and  utilized  for  the  furnace, 
where  every  machine  in  the  place  was  perfectly  guarded  and  safe, 
where  all  conditions  as  to  light,  sanitation,  comfort  and  care  were 
as  perfect  as  could  be  found,  and  where  it  appeared  that  the  econo- 
mic relations  between  employers  and  employes  were  peaceful  and  of 
the  best.  And  yet,  in  a  description  of  model  factories  of  New  York 
State,  it  is  hardly  probable  that  the  name  of  this  plant  would 
appear. 

To  be  considered  "  model "  a  modern  factory  must  set  high 
standards  in  (1)  industrial  efficiency,  (2)  economic  relations  of 
employer  and  employes,  (3),  general  sanitation  and  (4)  welfare 
work. 

Industrial  efficiency  is  a  characteristic  of  model  factories,  because 
only  in  such  factories  is  there  possible  the  thorough  utilization  of 
natural  resources,  the  most  scientific  applications  of  inventions 


68 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


and  discoveries,  the  maximum  of  production  with  the  minimum  of 
expenditure,  the  largest  productivity  of  labor  and  other  character- 
istics of  industrial  efficiency,  which  mark  the  success  of  an  estab- 
lishment and  the  prosperity  of  an  industry. 

The  improvement  in  the  economic  relations  between  employers 
and  employes  is  the  second  indispensable  feature  of  model  factories. 
Amicable  relations  between  employers  and  employes,  freedom  of 
organization,  collective  bargaining,  self-government  of  each  organ- 


• 


Factory  of  The  United  Shoe  Machinery  Co.,  Beverly,  Mass. 


ization,  participation  in  the  administration,  benefits  and  profits 
of  the  establishment,  and  more  or  less  permanent  peace  between 
the  two  warring  factions  of  labor  and  capital,  are  some  of  the  main 
features  of  model  establishments. 

Closely  allied  to  the  above  are  progressive  sanitary  and  working 
conditions  in  the  industrial  plant  such  as  pleasant  surroundings, 
absolute  fire  protection,  prevention  of  industrial  accidents  and 
provisions  for  safety,  adequate  light,  and  ventilation,  special  pro- 
visions for  sanitary  care  and  comforts  of  the  employes,  and  other 
improvements. 


THE  WORKPLACE  69 

Lastly,  characteristic  of  a  model  factory  are  the  provisions  for 
the  welfare  of  the  workers,  such  as  care  of  the  health  of  the 
employes,  medical  supervision  and  aid,  care  for  housing  within,  as 
well  as  without  the  factory,  proper  nourishment  within  and  outside 
of  the  factory,  and  last,  but  not  least,  certain  economic  provisions 
for  sickness,  invalidity,  old  age  and  death,  and  the  reasonable 
assurance  of  the  workers  in  the  security  of  their  employment. 

Model  factories  are  not  the  invention  of  the  twentieth  century. 
They  were  known  from  the  beginning  of  the  modern  factory  system 
and  even  before.  We  have  already  noted  that  there  were  a  number 
of  large  industrial  establishments  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries,  in  which  under  one  roof  were  employed  many  hundreds 
of  workers.  In  some  of  these  factories  model  conditions  of  work 
were  provided.  A  type  of  factory  at  that  time  was  that  of  Van 
Robais  at  Abbeville,  France,  where  1200  workers  and  working 
women  were  under  one  roof  under  regular  military  regime.  They 
were  lodged  in  the  factory,  which  had  four  great  doors  guarded  by 
porters  wearing  the  King's  livery;  for  it  was  a  royal  manufactory. 

Here  is  a  description  of  a  large  factory  existing  at  an  even  earlier 
period,  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century.  This  was 
the  factory  of  Saint-Maur,  which  made  cloth  of  gold,  and  where 
several  hundred  persons  worked: 

"  At  daybreak  the  workers  arrived.  They  found  at  the  doors 
tubs  of  water  and  towels;  they  washed  their  hands  and  then 'set 
to  work.  In  their  workroom  there  were  servants  who  swept  four 
times  a  week,  and  brought  the  weavers  whatever  they  needed. 
During  work  all  blasphemy  or  obscene  language  was  forbidden."  * 

As  one  of  the  early  model  factories  may  be  cited  Robert  Owen's 
factory  at  New  Lanark.  As  soon  as  Robert  Owen  bought  his  fac- 
tories from  Dale  in  1816,  he  reduced  the  hours  of  labor  to  twelve, 
with  one  and  a  quarter  hours  for  meals,  leaving  the  actual  working 
time  but  ten  and  three-quarter  hours,  at  that  time  a  very  short 
workday.  There  were  between  1800  and  2000  workers  in  his  place, 
of  whom  500  were  children  from  parish  workhouses. 

Owen  started  a  village  store  for  the  workers  and  had  the  streets 
patrolled.  He  also  started  schools  for  the  children.  These  schools 
were  models,  and  in  them  many  educational  ideas,  which  are  even 
now  far  from  general,  were  applied.  No  child  under  ten  years 
was  admitted  to  the  works.  Owen  also  started  a  library,  an  insti- 
tute and  an  amusement  hall,  where  the  children  and  young  people 

*  P.  Brizon,  Histoire  du  Travail  et  des  Travailleurg,  p.  169. 


70 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


could  dance.  Medical  attendance  was  provided  for  all  the  workers 
and  a  savings  bank  started. 

Owen  proved  that  he  could  be  successful  in  spite  of  all  these 
model  features,  which  were  at  that  time  considered  very  advanced. 
The  success  of  New  Lanark  seems  to  have  been  very  largely  due 
to  the  character  of  Owen  himself.  His  simplicity,  benevolence  and 
enthusiasm  had  a  wonderful  effect  upon  the  community,  though 
even  he  had  many  difficulties  when  he  first  started  his  reforms.* 

During  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  a  number  of 
reformers  were  busy  with  ideals  of  model  factories,  some  of  which 
were  realized,  while  others  have  remained  more  or  less  in  the  air. 


Factory  of  the  Friedrich  Bayer  Co.  at  Elberfeld. 

Among  these  may  be  mentioned  Fourier's  Plan  of  Association — 
the  phalanstery,  which  was  a  combination  of  industry,  agriculture 
and  science.  The  profits  of  the  association  were  to  be  divided 
annually  into  three  parts: — seven-twelfths  to  labor,  three-twelfths 
to  capital  and  two-twelfths  to  skill.  By  subdivision  of  labor,  indus- 
try was  to  be  made  attractive;  also  by  occupations  of  short  dura- 
tion, for  no  group  of  workers  was  to  spend  more  than  from  one 
hour  and  a  half  to  two  hours  a  day  at  any  one  kind  of  work. 
Work  was  to  be  also  divided  into  three  classes:  that  of  necessity, 
of  usefulness,  and  of  attractiveness.  The  first  was  to  be  more 
highly  paid  than  the  other  two.f 

*  Frank  Podmore,  Robert  Owen. 

t  A.  Brisbane,  A  Concise  Summary  of  the  Principles  of  Association,  p.  51. 


THE  WORKPLACE  71 

At  present  there  are  many  factories,  which  are  model  in  some  or 
in  all  respects,  all  over  the  United  States  as  well  as  in  most  of  the 
European  countries.  Some  of  these  factories  are  a  household  name. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  model  factories  in  Austria,  but 
those  which  struck  me  as  especially  worthy  of  note  are  the  tobacco 
factories  belonging  to  the  government,  which  have  the  monopoly 
of  tobacco  production  and  sale  throughout  Austria-Hungary. 
These  tobacco  factories  are  models  of  their  kind,  have  the  external 
appearance  of  palaces,  schools  and  universities,  have  the  best  pro- 
visions for  light,  ventilation,  removal  of  dust  and  safeguarding  of 
machinery  that  I  have  ever  seen  in  other  factories,  and  they  also 
possess  a  number  of  facilities,  lunch  rooms,  hospitals,  dispensaries 
for  first  aid,  etc. 

There  are  also  many  well-known  model  factories  in  the  United 
States,  to  mention  all  of  which  would  be  impossible.  In  some  of 
the  illustrations  given  in  this  part,  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the 
book,  mention  is  made  of  some  of  the  model  factories,  although  it 
must  be  understood  that  this  does  not  mean  that  these  are  the  only 
model  factories  in  the  country. 

As  progress  is  made  in  industrial  conditions,  and  as  the  rela- 
tion of  sanitary  science  to  industrial  efficiency  comes  to  be  more 
generally  understood,  the  conception  of  a  model  industrial  estab- 
lishment advances,  and  the  state  and  municipal  provisions  con- 
stantly change  and  progress;  so  that  what  is  to-day  considered  a 
voluntary  provision  by  enlightened  manufacturers  becomes  to- 
morrow the  minimum  provision  required  by  the  state,  and  progres- 
sive employers  are  constantly  spurred  on  to  further  improve  indus- 
trial conditions  and  to  again  be  in  the  vanguard  of  progressive 
industrial  efficiencv  and  welfare. 


CHAPTER  III 
FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION 

I 
DANGER  AND  EXTENT  OF  FACTORY  FIRES 


THE  road  to  safety  too  often,  in  America  at  least,  seems  to  lie 
through  disaster.  It  took  the  Iroquois  theater  fire  in  Chicago 
to  force  elementary  precautions  for  public  safety  in  theaters. 
The  Collingwood  school  disaster  resulted  in  a  tardy  concern  for 
fire  dangers  in  school  buildings,  and  145  workers  had  to  lose  their 
lives  in  the  Asch  building  fire  before  the  practice  of  safety  in 
factories  and  workshops  received  general  attention;  this,  too,  in 
spite  of  the  warning  of  the  Newark  factory  fire  only  four  months 
previous,  in  which  twenty-five  women  workers  were  killed. 

This  fire  occurred  in  an  old  four-story  brick  building  built  in 
1855.  It  was  of  the  usual  factory  type  of  those  days — non-fireproof 
— with  each  floor  constituting  one  large  open  room  almost  a  city 
block  long.  The  fire  broke  out  in  the  morning  at  about  9:15, 
and  within  twenty  minutes  the  top  floor  work-room,  in  which 
about  one  hundred  girls  were  employed  in  making  muslin  under- 
wear, was  a  mass  of  flames.  The  fire  started  on  the  floor  below 
with  the  manufacture  of  electric  lighting  lamps.  Some  gasoline 
was  being  used  which  somehow  exploded.  The  single  stairway  of 
wood  led  through  the  center  of  the  building  and  acted  as  a  chimney 
for  the  fire.  This  stairway,  up  which  the  smoke  and  flames  rushed, 
cut  the  top  floor  workroom  into  two  parts.  The  room  was  crowded 
with  machines,  the  workers  had  never  had  a  fire  drill.  They  turned 
to  the  fire-escapes,  but  these  were  small,  difficult  to  use,  led  past 
the  fire  raging  on  the  floor  beneath  and  were  therefore  useless. 

The  steps  leading  from  the  workroom  to  the  sill  of  the  window 
opening  on  the  fire-escape  collapsed  with  the  weight  of  the  girls 
crowding  up  on  them,  and  added  to  the  confusion.  Theold- 

72 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  73 

fashioned  windows  with  heavy  sashes  had  to  be  propped  up  with 
sticks.  Some  of  the  girls  were  pinned  beneath  their  weight  and 
could  not  get  through.  Before  the  fire  engines  could  reach  the 
building  many  girls  had  leaped  to  the  street  and  many  more  had 
met  their  death  by  fire  within  the  factory. 

This  factory  was  not  fireproof.  Many  fire  experts  supposed  that 
such  a  casualty  could  never  happen  in  a  modern  fire-resisting 
building,  but  the  words  of  Peter  J.  McKeon,  writing  in  the  Survey 
for  January  7,  1911,  seem  prophetic  of  the  terrible  disaster  that 
followed  within  three  months: 

"This  Newark  fire  is  a  challenge  to  public  opinion  throughout 
the  metropolitan  industrial  district  centering  in  New  York,  especially 
with  respect  to  the  fire  hazards  in  the  loft  buildings  in  Manhattan. 
The  fireproof  factory  buildings  have  an  advantage  in  their  incom- 
bustible construction,  but  this  advantage  is  offset  by  the  fact  that 
they  are  built  of  such  height  and  area  that  they  represent  a  special 
fire  problem  whose  possibilities  are  yet  to  be  demonstrated." 

And  then  on  March  25,  1911,  the  Asch  building  disaster  occurred. 
In  contrast  to  the  old-fashioned  Wolff  factory,  the  Asch  building 
was  a  ten-story  modern  fireproof  building;  yet  within  twenty 
minutes  of  the  start  of  the  fire  on  the  eighth  floor  in  the  Triangle 
Waist  Company,  145  girls  had  either  met  their  death  in  the  flames 
or  been  killed  in  leaping  from  the  ninth-story  windows.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  go  into  the  details  of  this  tragedy.  The  chief  loss 
of  life  was  on  the  ninth  floor  where  about  200  girls  were  working. 
The  workers  on  the  eighth  floor  where  the  fire  started  were  able  to 
get  down  the  stairs  in  time;  those  on  the  tenth  floor  escaped  over  the 
roof.  Here  again,  the  workrooms  were  great  open  spaces  without 
fire-walls  for  cutting  off  the  fire  or  confining  it  to  one  part  of  the 
factory.  The  rooms  were  crowded  with  machines,  with  rows  of 
girls  sitting  back  to  back  in  the  aisles.  The  machines  extended 
right  up  to  the  windows,  without  any  aisles  running  east  and  west. 
Wooden  partitions  about  the  doors,  which  were  kept  locked,  made 
exit  impossible  until  the  fire  had  gained  headway.  The  one 
fire-escape  was  useless,  as  it  led  past  the  ninth  floor,  from  which  the 
smoke  and  flames  were  pouring.  There  was  no  fire  drill  in  the 
factory,  and  many  of  the  girls  did  not  even  know  of  the  existence 
of  a  second  stairway.  When  the  fire  was  over,  the  building  was 
found  to  be  scarcely  injured  at  all;  but  the  fierceness  with  which 
the  highly  inflammable  contents  had  burned,  was  quite  sufficient 
to  have  brought  about  this  terrible  loss  of  life. 


74  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  third  factory  fire,  which  also  had  its  lessons  was  at  the 
Freeman  Overall  Works  at  Binghamton  in  August,  1913.  In 
this  factory,  all  the  devices  required  by  law  were  installed.  It 
was  four  stories  high  and  fire-resisting,  if  not  thoroughly  fireproof; 
but  again  it  was  the  same  story  of  the  overcrowding  of  workers 
on  the  top  floor,  lack  of  fire-walls  for  confining  the  fire,  fire-escapes 
that  proved  useless  by  reason  of  the  fire  on  the  floor  below,  and 
the  confusion  of  a  workroom  full  of  machines,  cutting  tables 
and  stock,  which  brought  about  the  death  of  fifty-one  young 
workers. 

In  the  reports  on  this  fire,  the  factory  inspector  and  the  fire 
marshal  both  declared  that  the  legal  requirements  had  been  com- 
plied with  by  the  employer  in  every  particular.  Since  the  Asch 
building  fire  he  had  made  many  improvements  and  changes  in  his 
workroom  to  bring  it  within  the  requirements  of  the  changed  law. 
A  fire  drill  had  been  instituted,  and  the  girls  were  used  to  marching 
out  of  the  factory  in  good  order. 

It  is  disasters  such  as  these  that  have  forced  attention  to  the 
terrible  dangers  to  the  workers  from  the  fire  hazard  in  factories. 
The  increase  in  periodical  literature  and  in  hand-books  and  com- 
pilations of  all  kinds  dealing  with  the  industrial  fire  hazard  shows 
the  public  feeling  in  regard  to  the  gravity  of  this  situation.  And 
yet  we  have  no  records  of  the  loss  of  life  in  factory  fires.  In  fact, 
for  the  United  States  there  is  no  record  of  the  fire  loss  in  terms  of 
human  life — only  in  terms  of  property.  Records  of  the  property 
loss  are  available  for  the  country  at  large,  for  each  of  the  states, 
and  for  most  of  the  larger  cities.  The  loss  of  life  through  fire  can 
only  be  estimated. 

In  1907,  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  made  an  inquiry 
into  fire  losses  in  the  United  States  and  Europe.  A  report  was 
received  from  2976  cities  and  villages  with  a  population  of 
34,103,453.  It  was  found  that  within  that  year  1449  persons  lost 
their  lives  and  5654  were  injured  through  fire.  This  probably 
represents  only  half  the  deaths  and  injuries  that  actually  occurred 
in  the  whole  of  the  United  States,  as  many  fire  chiefs  did  not 
report  deaths,  deaths  from  fire  being  included  in  the  reports  of  the 
other  city  officials. 

It  is  only  when  some  great  fire  disaster  occurs  that  any  record 
is  made  of  the  loss  of  life.  In  the  Iroquois  theater  fire  in  1903, 
600  lives  were  lost;  in  the  Boyertown  Opera  House  fire  in  1908, 
200  lives  were  lost;  in  the  fire  in  the  Collingwood  schoolhouse  in 


FACTOEY  FIRES  AND  THEIE  PREVENTION  75 

1898,  165  lives  were  lost;  in  the  three  factory  fires  that  have  been 
described,  228  lives  were  lost.  The  loss  of  life  in  these  three 
industrial  fires  occurring  within  three  years,  is  greater  than  the  loss 
of  life  in  any  other  fire  disaster  in  the  United  States  with  the 
exception  of  the  Iroquois  theater  fire. 

Let  us  turn  from  the  human  waste  involved  in  fire  to  the  prop- 
erty loss.  The  United  States  Geological  Survey  mentioned  above, 
records  a  fire  loss  for  1907  of  $816,476,029.  But  these  figures 
do  not  represent  the  whole  story.  In  addition  the  postmasters  in 
rural  districts  report  a  fire  loss  of  $3,519,  769,  representing  a  total 
loss  of  $819,995,798,  or  an  average  per  capita  loss  of  $2.51  for  every 
man,  woman  and  child  in  those  districts  reporting.  On  this  basis, 
property  loss  from  fire  in  the  United  States  for  1907  amounted 
to  $215,084,  507. 

"  If  the  government  should  suddenly  lay  an  annual  tax  of 
$2.51  on  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  United  States  on  a 
promise  of  spending  the  money  for  some  useful  purpose,  that 
promise  would  not  avail  against  the  storm  of  protests  that  would 
be  aroused.  Nevertheless,  a  tax  which  in  the  aggregate  amounts 
to  that  is  being  paid  by  the  people  of  this  country — it  is  the  annual 
fire  loss  of  the  nation  upon  buildings  and  their  contents  alone."  * 

That  these  fire  losses  are  not  decreasing  is  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing table,  giving  the  aggregate  property  and  insurance  losses 
in  the  United  States  from  1899  to  1909  inclusive,  as  compiled  by  the 
National  Board  of  Fire  Underwriters: 

Year.  Aggregate  Property  Loss.     Aggregate  Insurance  Loss. 

1899  $153,597,830        $  92,683,715 

1900  160,929,805  95,403,650 

1901  165817,810  100,798,645 

1902  161,078,040  94,460,525 

1903  145,302,155  92,599,881 

1904  229,198,050  127,690,424 

1905  165,221,650  103,805,402 

1906  518,611,800  230,842,759 

1907  215,084,709  117,433,427 

1908  217,885,850  135,547,162 

1909  188,705,150  126,171,492 

The  total  fire  loss  for  the  past  thirty-five  years  amounts  to 
$4,904,619,235.  The  national  debt  of  the  United  States  at  the 

*  Walter  L.  Fisher,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  "  The  Fire  Waste,"  p.  1. 


76 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


highest  point  ever  reached  on  July  1,  1866,  amounted  to  $2,733,- 
236,173.* 

Let  us  now  compare  the  loss  of  life  and  the  property  loss  of  the 
United  States  with  the  experience  of  European  countries.  In  a 
recent  report,  United  States  Consul  Joseph  I.  Brittain,  stationed 
at  Prague,  Bohemia,  states  that  there  has  not  been  a  life  lost 
in  consequence  of  a  fire  during  the  past  fifteen  years  in  that  city 
of  over  500,000  population,  and  the  loss  of  property  from  fires 
during  the  past  three  years  has  been  less  than  $20,300  annually. 
It  has  been  shown  by  the  Committee  on  Statistics  of  the  National 
Board  of  Fire  Underwriters  that  the  average  per  capita  loss  in  six 
European  countries  for  a  period  of  five  years  was  33  cents,  dis- 
tributed as  follows: 


Fire  Loss 

Loss 

Country 

Years. 

Annual 
Average. 

1901 
Population. 

Per 
Capita. 

Austria 

1898-02 

$  7  601  389 

26  150  597 

$0  29 

Denmark 

1901 

660  924 

2  588  919 

26 

France  

1900-04 

11,699,275 

38,595,500 

30 

Germany  

1902 

27,655,600 

56,367,178 

.49 

Italy 

1901-04 

4,112,725 

32  449  754 

12 

Switzerland          .  .    .      

1901-03 

999,364 

3,325,023 

30 

Official  fire  losses  in  the  States  of  Maine,  Massachusetts,  New 
Hampshire  and  Ohio  for  a  period  of  five  years,  were  as  follows: 


State. 

Five 

Fire  Loss 

Population. 

Loss 

Years. 

Average. 

Capita. 

Maine              

1901-05 

$2,240,158 

694,647 

$3  22 

Massachusetts  

1901-05 

6,285,891 

2,844,068 

2.21 

New  Hampshire                  .          .  . 

1901-05 

1,174,061 

411  588 

2  85 

Ohio  

1901-05 

7,502,561 

4,157,545 

1.80 

The  total  per  capita  fire  loss  in  the  United  States  for  the  five 
years  ending  with  1907  was  $3.02,  or  nearly  ten  times  as  much  as 
the  European  average  quoted  above.  Had  the  United  States  a 
per  capita  loss  of  $0.33  as  given  for  European  countries,  instead 

*  J.  K.  Freitag,  "  Fire  Prevention  and  Fire  Protection,"  p.  4. 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION 


77 


r 


E 


JIT* 


78  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

of  an  actual  per  capita  loss  of  $2.51  for  the  year  1907  (based  on  a 
population  of  85,532,761),  then  the  total  fire  loss  in  the  United 
States  in  that  year  would  have  amounted  to  only  $28,623,290,  or  a 
saving  in  fire  waste  alone  of  $186,461,419. 

In  the  year  1907  there  were  about  thirty-five  fires  in  Great 
Britain  with  an  average  loss  of  over  $50,000,  and  not  one  that 
exceeded  $400,000.  In  January,  1908,  fire  destroyed  $24,000,000 
worth  of  property  in  the  United  States. 

According  to  the  best  obtainable  information,  the  annual  fire 
toll  of  the  nation  amounted  to  $203,408,250  in  1913.  That  was 
the  least  it  has  been  since  1909,  when  it  was  $188,705,150.  And 
although  the  1913  toll  was  $4,135,650  less  than  in  1912,  that  was 
only  44  per  cent  of  the  previous  year's  decrease. 

Big  individual  fires  and  sweeping  fires  involving  several  buildings 
did  more  damage  in  1913  than  in  1912.  The  losses  by  forty  such 
fires  amounted  to  $25,807,000,  exceeding  the  total  by  23  fires  in  1912, 
$4,107,000.  The  sole  fire  of  near-real  conflagration  magnitude  in 
1913  was  the  Hot  Springs,  Ark.,  fire  of  September  5th,  which 
caused  a  loss  of  $2,250,000.  The  1912  Houston,  Texas,  con- 
flagration loss  was  twice  that  amount.  But  there  were  fourteen 
big  sweeping  fires  or  minor  conflagrations  in  1913  with  losses  amount- 
ing to  $11,280,000,  while  in  1912  seven  such  fires  piled  up  a  loss 
of  $8,350,000.  In  1913,  twenty-six  big  individual  fires  burned  up 
$14,527,000  worth  of  property  values.  In  1912,  the  aggregate 
loss  by  sixteen  similar  fires  was  $13,490,000.* 

According  to  a  partial  list  compiled  by  Safety  Engineering  there 
were  152  fires  in  factories  in  1913. 

There  are  no  general  statistics  in  the  United  States  or  abroad 
of  industrial  loss  through  fire  either  of  lives  or  property;  but  it  is 
safe  to  assume  that  when  the  general  loss  of  life  and  property  is 
so  much  greater  in  the  United  States  than  in  Europe,  that  factory 
fires  are  very  much  more  frequent  and  the  loss  of  life  and  economic 
waste  much  greater  than  in  other  countries.  Safety  in  factories 
depends  upon  the  general  progress  in  construction,  in  fire  preven- 
tion and  education  in  regard  to  fire  dangers,  just  as  industrial 
hygiene  depends  upon  the  general  progress  of  hygiene  in  the  com- 
munity. The  American  industrial  fire  hazard  is  simply  one  aspect 
of  our  ignorant  and  wasteful  attitude  towards  our  national  resources, 
both  economic  and  human. 

*  Safety  Engineering,  January,  1914,  p.  28. 


FACTOEY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  79 

II 
INDUSTRIAL  FIRES— CAUSES  AND  PREVENTION 

The  data  presented  above  give  some  idea  of  the  extent  and 
dangers  of  fires  in  industrial  establishments.  The  dangers  of 
industrial  fires  are  so  obvious  and  are  such  a  grave  menace  to  the 
safety  of  a  great  mass  of  workers  that  fire  prevention  and  protection 
is  one  of  the  most  serious  problems  at  present  confronting  those  who 
are  interested  in  the  safety  of  our  industries  and  in  the  welfare  of 
our  workers.  Industrial  fire  prevention  and  protection  are  the  prime 
need  of  the  hour;  and  the  best-trained  experts  are  at  present  endeavor- 
ing to  minimize  this  danger. 

The  study  of  prevention  and  protection  must  necessarily  be 
based  upon  a  study  of  the  causes  of  industrial  fires.  An  analysis 
of  such  causes  is  herewith  presented,  followed  by  a  brief  discussion: 

I.  CAUSES  OF  ORIGIN  OF  FIRES: 

(1)  Spontaneous  Combustion. 

(2)  Lightning. 

(3)  Exposure. 

(4)  Incendiarism. 

(5)  Personal  Neglect. 

(6)  Power. 

(7)  Heat. 

(8)  Light. 

(9)  Materials. 
(10)  Processes. 

II.  CAUSES  OF  THE  SPREAD  OF  FIRES: 

(1)  Congestion  of  Areas  and  Overcrowding  of  Buildings. 

(2)  Lack  of  Horizontal  Isolation. 

(3)  Lack  of  Vertical  Isolation. 

III.  CAUSES  OF  LACK  OF  CONTROL  OF  FIRES: 

(1)  Ignorance  of  the  Presence  of  Fire. 

(2)  Absence  of  Signals. 

(3)  Lack  of  Means  for  Extinguishing  Small  Fires. 

(4)  Inadequate  Local  Control. 

(5)  Inadequate  Municipal  Control. 


80  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

IV.     CAUSES  OF  Loss  OF  LIFE  IN  FIRES: 

(1)  Height  of  Buildings  and  Overcrowding. 

(2)  Improper,  Insufficient  and  Inadequate  Means  of  Egress 

from  each  Floor. 

(3)  Improper,  Insufficient  and  Inadequate  Means  of  Egress 

from  the  Building. 
(4).  Panics. 

Causes  of  Origin  of  Fires.  An  analysis  of  the  known  causes  of 
the  origin  of  fires  makes  it  evident  that  these  may  be  divided  into 
four  principal  groups:  (1)  those  fires  which  are  due  to  natural 
causes,  such  as  spontaneous  combustion,  lightning  and  exposure  of 
buildings  to  outside  fires;  (2)  those  fires  which  are  due  to  criminal 
and  personal  negligence,  among  which  are  incendiarism  and  personal 
carelessness  with  matches,  cigars,  etc.;  (3)  fires  which  are  due  to 
defective  installations  and  appliances  of  power,  heat,  light  and 
electricity;  and  (4)  those  fires  which  are  due  either  to  the  nature 
of  the  material  used  in  the  industries  or  to  their  characteristic 
processes. 

Spontaneous  Combustion.  By  spontaneous  combustion  is  meant 
self -ignition  of  a  substance,  when  such  substance  becomes  heated 
through  certain  physical,  chemical  or  biological  changes  taking 
place  in  the  substance  itself.  The  ignition  is  generally  caused  by 
oxidation.  Some  German  scientists  claim  that  bacteria  play  an 
important-role  in  this  process  of  oxidation,  and  are  often  the  cause 
of  spontaneous  combustion  in  certain  materials.  Spontaneous 
combustion  occurs  only  in  certain  materials  under  certain  favorable 
conditions.  Wool  and  cotton  rags,  sawdust  and  porous  organic 
matter  when  soaked  with  vegetable  or  animal  oils  are  especially 
dangerous.  Oils,  such  as  linseed,  cod  liver,  seal,  goose  and  hog  fat 
and  certain  rancid  fats,  certain  varnishes  and  glues  in  which  these  oils 
are  an  ingredient,  are  liable  to  oxidation.*  Hay,  fodder  and  bran, 
especially  in  the  presence  of  moisture,  bituminous  coal  and  newly- 
made  wood  charcoal  will  also  ignite  spontaneously  under  certain 
conditions. 

In  the  statistics  of  the  fires  of  Boston  between  1891  and  1905, 
those  due  to  spontaneous  combustion  amount  to  2.83  per  cent 
of  all  the  fires.  Freitag  says,  "It  is  possible,  indeed  probable, 
that  many  fires  reported  as  of  *  incendiary  '  or  '  mysterious  '  origin 
result  from  spontaneous  combustion."  f 

*  "  Cyclopedia  of  Fire  Protection  and  Insurance,"  vol.  i3i..  pp.  55,  56. 
t  J.  K.  Freitag,  "  Fire  Prevention  and  Fire  Protection,"  p.  838. 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  81 


Courtesy  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control. 

Inflammable  Material  Obstructing  the  Exit  from  a  Fire-escape. 


82  THE  MODERN  FACTOEY 

Spontaneous  combustion  may  be  prevented  by  taking  the  fol- 
lowing precautions:  (1)  large  quantities  of  materials  subject  to 
spontaneous  combustion  should  never  be  kept  in  warehouses,  store- 
houses, cellars  or  basements  of  industrial  establishments,  but  should 
be  stored  in  properly  enclosed  spaces  with  fireproof  walls  and  fire- 
proof doors;  (2)  proper  aeration  of  materials  that  must  be  kept  on 
hand;  and  (3)  the  provision  of  metal  or  fireproof  receptacles  as  con- 
tainers for  small  quantities  of  rags,  waste,  oils,  glues,  etc. 

Lightning.  Many  fires  are  due  to  lightning.  This  is  especially 
true  of  buildings  in  isolated  localities  and  such  buildings  as  have 
large  towers,  and  chimneys.  The  prevention  of  fires  due  to  light- 
ning is  a  matter  which  has  received  considerable  attention  since 
Franklin  used  lightning  conductors  for  grounding  electricity.  Build- 
ings may  be  grounded;  lightning  conductors  may  be  properly 
installed  on  chimneys,  towers  and  other  tall  projections. 

Exposure.  Some  fires  are  caused  by  the  exposure  of  buildings 
to  outside  fires.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  industrial  centers  in 
congested  districts,  where  a  fire  in  one  building  spreads  to  other 
buildings  nearby  under  favorable  conditions.  The  prevention  of 
such  fires,  due  to  exposure,  may  be  accomplished  by  taking  the 
following  precautions:  (1)  detached  buildings;  (2)  less  congestion  of 
buildings  on  certain  areas;  (3)  prompt  control  of  the  fire  by  local  or 
municipal  fire  departments;  and  (4)  by  proper  construction  of  roofs, 
walls  and  windows  in  order  to  prevent  fire  entering  the  building. 
This  last  means  of  prevention  depends  upon  proper  construction  and 
the  use  of  fireproof  materials,  which  will  be  discussed  later. 

Incendiarism.  According  to  a  report  of  the  New  York  City 
Fire  Commissioner  of  1912,  incendiarism  is  the  cause  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  at  least  four  million  dollars  worth  of  property  in  New  York 
every  year.*  According  to  ex-Fire  Chief  Croker,  fifteen  per  cent 
of  all  fires  in  New  York  are  due  to  what  he  calls  "  pyro- 
maniacs."  f  Both  Croker  and  Johnson  claim  that  a  large  number 
of  persons  are  subject  to  a  certain  insane  pleasure  in  starting  fires 
in  buildings  (so-called  "  fire-bugs "),  and  numerous  instances  of 
such  fires  and  of  such  individuals  are  cited  by  these  authorities. 
The  same  reports  claim  that  there  is  an  actual  fire-bug  zone  in 
which  fires  in  buildings  are  constantly  occurring  and  are  expected 
by  the  department  and  considered  normal.  There  are  a  number 
of  buildings  in  which  fires  occur  from  two  to  seven  times  in  a  short 

*  Report  on  Incendiarism  in  New  York  City,  Joseph  Johnson,  Fire  Commissioner,  1912. 
t.'Tire  Prevention,"  p.  293. 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  83 

period.  A  portion  of  these  fires  are  also  due  to  incendiarism,  and 
the  same  experts  claim  that  there  is  actually  a  so-called  "  Arson 
Trust  "  existing  in  some  of  the  large  cities,  which  makes  a  business 
of  insuring  property  above  its  value  and  causing  fires  in  order  to 
gain  the  insurance.  In  the  Boston  statistics  of  fires  referred  to,* 
incendiary  fires  were  only  four  per  cent,  showing  that  the  sensa- 
tional figures  of  the  New  York  Fire  Commissioner  may  have  been 
somewhat  exaggerated  in  his  laudable  desire  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  Mayor  to  this  menace  of  incendiarism. 

The  methods  for  the  prevention  of  incendiarism  are:  (1)  vigilance 
on  the  part  of  municipal  authorities;  (2)  exemplary  punishment 
of  criminal  incendiarism;  (3)  control  of  fire  insurance  companies 
and  regulation  of  insurance  so  as  to  prevent  over-insurance  of 
buildings  and  contents;  and  (4)  spread  of  education  in  regard  to  the 
dangers  of  fires  and  the  means  of  their  prevention. 

Personal  Neglect.  Among  the  causes  of  fires  due  to  personal 
neglect,  which  may  sometimes  be  criminal  by  reason  of  the  dangers 
resulting,  may  be  cited  smoking  in  factories  and  the  practice  of 
throwing  away  lighted  matches,  butts  of  cigars,  cigarettes  and  con- 
tents of  pipes.  So-called  "  parlor  matches  "  which  have  a  large 
surface  covered  with  sulphur  and  wax,  are  dangerous  when  dropped 
on  the  floor  lighted  or  unlighted.  When  unlighted,  they  are  easily 
ignited  by  pressure  and  by  gnawing  of  animals;  when  thrown  away 
unextinguished  they  may  smoulder;  and  when  in  contact  with  inflam- 
mable material  may  easily  start  a  dangerous  fire.  Children  often 
play  with  matches  and  a  great  many  fires  are  caused  by  parents 
neglecting  to  remove  matches  out  of  their  reach. 

The  means  of  prevention  of  such  fires  may  be  summed  up  as 
follows:  (1)  the  prohibition  of  the  use  of  matches  in  industrial 
buildings  and  the  penalizing  of  employes  for  bringing  them  into  the 
building;  (2)  the  use  of  electric  lighters;  f  (3)  the  absolute  prohibi- 
tion of  smoking  within  a  factory  or  industrial  establishment;  and 

(4)  the  elimination  of  all  inflammable  waste,  rags,  papers,   etc., 
from  floors  and  spaces  under  machines. 

Power.  Fires  due  to  power  and  its  installation  may  be  caused 
by  the  following:  (1)  fuel;  (2)  furnaces;  (3)  boilers;  (4)  shafting; 

(5)  bearings;     (6)  pulleys.      It  has  already  been   mentioned  that 
certain  materials  used  for  fuel  or  light,  such  as  oils,  gasoline,  or 
coal,  may  sometimes  be  the  cause  of  fire   either   by  spontaneous 

*  Freitag,  "  Fire  Prevention  and  Fire  Protection,"  p.  28. 

t  Where  electric  lighters  are  not  used,  wax  tapers  may  be  used  with  greater  safety,  one  per- 
son being  delegated  to  light  the  lights,  heating  irons  or  ironing  rolls. 


84  THE  MODEEN  FACTORY 

combustion  or  by  accidental  sparks,  or  by  ashes  left  from  the  fuel. 
The  prevention  of  such  fires  will  be  partly  discussed  in  the  section 
dealing  with  gasoline,  etc.  The  proper  storage  and  aeration  of 
all  fuels,  provision  of  metal  ash-cans  and  the  removal  of  all  ashes 
as  soon  as  possible  from  the  building,  are  necessary  precautions. 

The  fires  caused  by  furnaces  may  be  due  to  the  overheating  of 
the  furnace,  the  contact  of  the  furnace  with  wood  or  other  inflam- 
mable materials  and  by  sparks  from  the  furnace.  Such  fires  may 
be  prevented  by  the  proper  construction  of  furnaces,  by  regulating 
their  heat,  by  removing  them  from  the  proximity  of  wooden  and  other 
inflammable  structures,  and,  if  possible,  by  installing  all  furnaces 
outside  of  the  building  or  in  specially  constructed  fireproof  sections. 

The  same  rules  apply  to  fires  due  to  boilers.  The  prevention 
of  fires  and  other  dangers  due  to  defects  in  boilers  and  their  in- 
stallation, is  a  science  by  itself,  and  comes  within  the  province  of 
special  technically  trained  boiler  inspectors.  Rules  are  made  by 
fire  experts  and  fire  underwriters  for  the  care  of  boilers,  their 
materials,  their  installation  and  their  frequent  testing. 

Some  fires  are  due  to  shafting  and  bearings  which  cause  fires 
by  friction  especially  if  in  close  proximity  to  inflammable  materials. 
The  same  may  also  be  said  of  pulleys,  especially  wooden  pulleys 
and  loose  pulleys,  which  are  often  causes  of  fires.  The  only  means 
of  preventing  such  fires  is  by  proper  inspection  and  oiling  of 
bearings  and  shaftings  as  well  as  by  proper  use  of  the  pulleys;  and 
the  prohibition  of  wooden  pulleys. 

Heat.  Many  fires  are  caused  by  the  improper  installation  of 
heating  appliances.  Cast-iron  stoves  anjd  their  flues  often  cause 
fires  when  overheated  and  when  in  proximity  to  inflammable 
material.  It  is  best  not  to  use  these  primitive  appliances  in  indus- 
trial establishments.  Where  stoves  are  used  they  should  be  pro- 
vided with  fire  pots  so  as  not  to  overheat  the  metal  part  of  the 
stove;  they  should  also  be  enclosed  with  metal  shields  at  least  four 
feet  high.  All  flues  should  be  at  a  distance  from  wooden  ceilings 
or  from  places  where  a  hot  flue  may  cause  ignition.  Steam  boilers 
as  well  as  steam  pipes  may  be  a  source  of  fires  by  their  overheating 
in  proximity  to  wood  and  other  inflammable  material.  Boilers 
should  be  properly  cared  for  in  separate  fireproof  enclosures,  while 
pipes  should  be  wherever  possible  coated  with  asbestos  and  well 
protected,  especially  in  their  transit  through  floors  and  ceilings, 
by  proper  metal  flanges,  etc.  Fireplaces  and  chimneys,  which 
often  cause  fires  by  their  defective  construction,  should  be  solidly 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  85 

built  of  fireproof  materials;  lined  with  approved  flue  lining  of  hard 
burnt  clay  with  well-made  joints.  They  should  also  be  frequently 
inspected  to  prevent  defective  conditions  which  lead  to  fires. 


Courtesy  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control. 

Rear  Fire-escape  Balconies  (Center  Building)  without  Connecting  Ladders. 

Light.  A  large  number  of  fires  are  caused  by  lighting  appliances. 
The  old  method  of  lighting  rooms  by  candles  and  oil  lamps  is  a 
thing  of  the  past  in  large  industrial  communities.  Whenever 
oil,  gasoline  or  acetylene  are  used  for  fuel,  power  or  light,  they 


86  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

should  be  kept  in  proper  receptacles  or  tanks  outside,  about 
thirty  feet  from  the  building,  and,  if  possible,  underground;  and 
the  provisions  made  by  fire  underwriters  and  municipal  authorities 
in  regard  to  proper  receptacles  should  be  strictly  observed. 

Illumination.  Coal  or  water  gas  is  a  frequent  cause  of  fire, 
either  because  of  leakage  from  defective  pipes  or  because  of  defective 
meters  or  improper  installation  of  the  pipes  and  fixtures.  Whenever 
gas  is  installed  in  an  industrial  building,  a  shut-off  valve  should  be 
provided  outside  of  the  building,  so  that  in  case  of  fire  the  flow  of 
gas  into  the  building  may  be  cut  off,  and  thus  the  danger  of  explosion 
prevented.  The  gas  meters  should  be  placed  upon  a  fireproof  wall 
and  if  possible  enclosed  within  fireproof  material  and  frequently 
tested.  Gas  pipes  should  be  made  air-tight  and  frequently  tested; 
no  leakage  should  be  allowed  in  cellars  or  lower  parts  of  buildings. 
Gas  brackets,  when  they  are  fixed,  should  be  at  a  distance  from 
wood  and  inflammable  material  and  no  swinging  gas  brackets  should 
be  allowed.  The  gas  jets,  especially  when  of  the  bat-wing  variety, 
should  also  be  carefully  protected,  and  enclosed  in  globes  when  in 
proximity  to  inflammable  materials. 

Care  must  also  be  taken  with  incandescent  lamps  and  mantles. 
No  lanterns  or  lamps  of  the  portable  variety  should  be  used 
unless  they  are  what  is  known  as  safety  lights  or  electric  flash- 
lights. 

Electric  power  and  electric  light  and  wiring  are  at  present  tested 
by  the  fire  underwriters  and  municipal  departments  before  and  after 
installation  and  usually  during  stated  periods  in  order  to  prevent 
fires  caused  by  exposed  and  crossed  wires,  short  circuiting,  improper 
fuses,  etc. 

Arc-lights  as  well  as  incandescent  lights  should  be  protected 
in  case  of  accidents  or  in  case  of  breakage  or  when  in  proximity 
to  inflammable  materials. 

Materials.  A  number  of  materials  used  in  manufacture  must 
be  kept  in  proper  receptacles,  while  there  are  others  for  which 
special  precautions  must  be  taken.  Among  the  inflammable  materials 
are  wool,  cotton  and  other  animal  and  vegetable  fibrous  materials. 
The  clippings,  cuttings  and  rubbish  from  such  materials  must  be 
put  in  proper  receptacles,  metal  if  possible,  and  tightly  covered. 
In  establishments  where  fats,  oils,  glues,  varnishes,  alcohol,  drugs, 
chemicals,  rubber,  celluloid,  explosives  or  other  highly  inflammable 
materials  are  stored  and  worked  with,  special  precautions  must 
be  taken  in  their  storage  and  in  the  processes  of  manufacture. 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  87 

State  or  municipal  departments  demand  a  separate  building  for 
the  storage  of  highly  explosive  or  highly  inflammable  materials. 
There  are  also  detailed  provisions  made  by  the  fire  underwriters 
as  to  storage  of  drugs,  chemicals  and  other  such  inflammable 
material.  The  buildings  in  which  such  materials  are  stored  are 
usually  rated  as  extra  hazardous,  and  are  not  only  a  danger  to 
persons  within  the  buildings  but  also  a  menace  to  the  neighborhood. 

Processes.  There  are  certain  processes  of  manufacture  which 
by  their  nature  often  cause  fires.  These  processes  consist  in  blast- 
ing, firing,  burning,  heating,  drying,  varnishing,  japanning,  etc.,  all 
of  which  possess  elements  of  danger  either  by  the  nature  of  the 
processes  themselves  or  because  of  accidental  or  criminal  negligence 
of  the  persons  in  charge  of  these  processes.  Definite  rules  are 
provided  for  certain  of  these  processes,  while  the  general  rules  for 
the  prevention  of  fires  consist  in  the  proper  installation  and  care  of 
the  appliances,  and  in  constant  vigilance  and  supervision  on  the 
part  of  those  who  operate  and  control  them. 


Ill 
SPREAD    OF   FIRES 

Causes  and  Prevention.  The  three  main  causes  of  the  spread 
of  fires,  are  (1)  the  congestion  of  area  built  upon  and  the  crowding 
of  buildings  upon  certain  areas;  (2)  lack  of  horizontal  isolation  and 
(3)  lack  of  vertical  isolation  in  our  building  construction. 

Density  of  Area  and  Crowding  of  Buildings.  The  crowding 
of  buildings  upon  a  circumscribed  area  and  the  height  of  such 
buildings  play  a  most  important  part  in  the  rapid  spread  of  fires, 
and  are  the  cause  of  great  destruction  of  buildings,  property,  and 
often  life.  Of  the  45,000  industrial  establishments  in  the  great 
state  of  New  York,  there  are  no  less  than  thirty  odd  thousand 
establishments  in  Greater  New  York  alone,  and  three-quarters 
of  these  are  on  Manhattan  Island.  The  majority  of  establishments 
on  Manhattan  Island  are  concentrated  within  a  small,  so-called 
"  loft  zone  "  of  about  twenty-five  blocks  in  length,  and  about  two 
or  three  blocks  in  width.  In  a  dense  area  like  this,  it  is  quite  possible 
for  a  small  fire,  which  in  a  less  congested  locality  would  burn  itself 
out  within  a  short  period,  to  spread  and  become  a  conflagration, 
and  destroy  a  whole  section  of  the  city. 


88 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Courtesy  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control. 

Drop  Ladder  Missing  at  the  Rear  of  a  Shop  Building, 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  89 

The  remedies  proposed  for  this  evil  may  be  summed  up  as  fol- 
lows: (1)  limitation  of  the  height  of  buildings,  (2)  limitation 
of  the  number  of  industrial  buildings  according  to  certain  zones, 
(3)  building  industrial  establishments  in  outlying  localities  away 
from  the  tenement-house  quarters  of  cities  and  towns,  (4)  better 
means  of  transportation  so  as  to  induce  industrial  establishments 
to  locate  outside  of  cities,  (5)  stricter  building  codes  in  order  to 
make  the  building  of  industrial  plants  within  the  city  limits  as 
safe  as  possible  with  the  present  technical  knowledge,  and  (6) 
regulation  of  building  construction  and  supervision  by  competent 
municipal  authorities,  (7)  confining  extra  hazardous  industries  to 
fire-proof  buildings  along  the  water  front  or  within  specified  zones. 

Lack  of  Horizontal  and  Vertical  Isolation.  Elemental  forces  once 
freed  are  difficult  to  control  unless  insurmountable  barriers  are  put 
in  their  way.  The  stopping  of  a  raging  fire  is  like  the  damming  of 
a  flood;  it  may  be  stopped  only  by  a  solid  obstruction  which  cannot 
be  overcome.  In  ship  construction,  the  principle  of  water-tight  com- 
partments has  long  been  a  recognized  form  of  construction  for  pre- 
venting the  loss  of  the  whole  structure.  In  building  construction, 
the  only  means  to  prevent  the  spread  of  a  conflagration  is  by  so 
building  that  the  fire  comes  to  a  natural  barrier,  which  stops  its 
further  progress  and  gives  an  opportunity  for  its  control. 

Hence,  in  our  cities  the  buildings  are  separated  from  each  other 
by  what  are  called  "  fire  walls ;"  that  is,  walls  made  of  such  material 
and  of  such  thickness  and  so  constructed  that  they  are  able  to  with- 
stand a  siege  of  fire  and  prevent  its  rapid  spread  beyond  the  bounds 
of  the  building.  Each  building  therefore  constitutes  a  unit,  and 
the  fire  walls  between  individual  buildings  are  the  first  step  in 
vertical  building  isolation. 

The  second  step  in  vertical  isolation,  which  has  not  as  yet 
become  a  standard  in  construction,  is  the  division  of  the  building 
into  vertical  units,  so  that  each  part  of  the  building,  and  each  room, 
should  by  itself  constitute  a  unit  in  which  the  fire  may  be  confined. 
The  following  of  this  principle  in  building  construction  would  mean 
that  each  room  or  each  vertical  partition  in  a  building  should  be 
so  constructed  as  to  hold  the  fire  and  let  it  consume  the  contents  of 
that  unit  without  going  beyond  it,  giving  time  for  those  in  charge 
to  control  and  extinguish  the  fire. 

As  to  horizontal  isolation,  this  becomes  necessary  when  story 
is  piled  upon  story,  and  the  height  of  buildings  reaches  into  the 
sky.  In  buildings  of  many  stories  a  number  of  building  units  are 


90  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

superimposed  one  on  top  of  the  other,  and  give  food  to  the  flame 
which  sometimes  spread  more  rapidly  in  a  vertical  direction  than  i 
a  horizontal  one.  Thus,  a  fire  on  one  floor,  especially  in  the  lowc 
part  of  the  building,  will,  if  unchecked,  spread  through  the  buik 
ing  and  consume  the  whole  structure. 

Isolation  which  would  make  not  only  each  building  but  eac 
story  and  each  room  a  unit,  consists  in  separating  the  low* 
floors  from  the  others  by  floors  and  ceilings  constructed  offir< 
resisting  materials.  Especially  necessary  is  the  proper  isolatio 
of  the  cellar  floor,  where  many  fires  originate,  from  the  first  stor? 

Vertical  isolation  may  be  accomplished  by  proper  division  c 
buildings  by  walls,  by  partitions,  doors  and  windows.  The  horizoi 
tal  isolation  of  buildings,  however,  is  not  sufficiently  controlled  b 
the  proper  construction  of  floors.  Our  buildings  are  so  constructe 
that  openings  are  necessary,  to  serve  as  means  of  communicatio 
from  floor  to  floor  and  from  story  to  story.  In  all  many-storie 
buildings  we  must  have  stairways,  elevators,  hoistways,  opening 
needed  for  plumbing  pipes,  for  heating  pipes,  for  power  transmissioi 
etc.,  all  of  which  serve  as  a  possible  means  of  communication  c 
fire  from  floor  to  floor. 

The  prevention,  therefore,  of  spread  of  fires  by  horizontal  an 
vertical  isolation  practically  means  the  proper  construction  wit 
proper  materials  of  the  following:  walls,  partitions,  doors,  window; 
floors,  elevators,  shafts,  stairways,  etc. 

Materials  of  Construction.  All  building  materials  must  t 
judged  as  far  as  fire  prevention  is  concerned  by  their  fireproof  c 
fire-resisting  qualities.  Here,  perhaps,  it  is  best  to  state  that  thei 
is  a  misconception  in  the  usage  of  the  word  fireproof. 

There  is  no  material  which  is  fireproof  in  the  sense  of  bein 
absolutely  unaffected  by  fire.  The  National  Fire  Prevention  Cor 
gress  at  London  in  1903,  rightly  decided  that  the  term  "  fireproof 
now  indiscriminately  applied  to  building  materials,  is  misleading 
and  the  congress  considered  that  the  term  "  fire-resisting  "  more  coi 
rectly  described  the  varying  qualities  of  materials  and  systeir 
of  construction  intended  to  resist  the  effect  of  fire  for  shorter  c 
for  longer  periods,  at  high  or  low  temperature,  tas  the  case  may  bt 
and  they  advocated  the  general  adoption  of  this  term  in  place  c 
the  word  fireproof.* 

The  fire-resisting  qualities  of  a  material  are  relative,  and  th 
final  destruction  of  any  material  by  fire  is  due  either  to  chemicj 

*  Quoted  by  Freitag,  "  Fire  Protection  and  Fire  Prevention,"  p.  207. 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  91 

and  molecular  changes  or  to  mechanical  rupture  of  the  structure 
due  to  excessive  heat.  Wood  offers  the  least  resistance  to  fire, 
and  wooden  frame  factories  are  easily  destroyed  by  fire.  Such 
construction  is  at  present  prohibited  in  most  industrial  centers. 
Frame  constructed  factories  are  still  found  in  a  number  of  cities, 
mostly  outside  of  the  so-called  fire  limits.  Most  of  the  establish- 
ments housed  in  frame  shacks  are  those  which  are  considered  tem- 
porary; especially  the  chemical  trades,  and  such  trades  where  isolation 
is  an  advantage.  Wood,  however,  when  properly  used  in  "'mill 
construction  "  is  capable  of  considerable  fire-resistance,  due  to  the 
manner  and  mass  in  which  it  is  used. 

The  following  is  Atkinson's  definition  of  "mill  construction:" 

(1)  "  Mill  construction  consists  in  so  disposing  the  timber  and 
plank  in  heavy  and  solid  masses  as  to  expose  the  least  number  of 
corners  or  ignitable  projections  to  fire,  to  the  end  also  that  when 
fire  occurs  it  may  be  most  readily  reached  by  water  from  sprinklers 
or  hose. 

(2)  "  It   consists  in  separating  every  floor  from  every  other 
floor  by  incombustible  stops — by  automatic  hatchways,  by  encasing 
stairways  either  in  brick  or  other  incombustible  partitions  so  that 
a  fire  shall  be  retarded  in  passing  from  floor  to  floor  to  the  utmost 
that  is  consistent  with  the  use  of  wood  or  any  material  in  construc- 
tion that  is  not  absolutely  fireproof. 

(3)  "  It  consists    in    guarding    the    ceilings  over   all  specially 
hazardous  stock  or  processes  with  fire-retardant  material,  such  as 
plastering  laid  on  wire-lath,  or  expanded   metal  or  upon  wooden 
dovetailed-lath,  following  the  lines  of  the  ceiling  and  of  the  timbers 
without  any  interspaces  between  the  plastering  and  the  wood;  or 
else  in  protecting  ceilings  over  hazardous  places  with  asbestos  air- 
cell  board,  sheet  metal,  Sackett  wall  board  or  other  fire-retardant." 

(4)  "  It  consists  not  only  in  so  constructing  the  mill,  workshop, 
or  warehouse  that  fire  shall  pass  as  slowly  as  possible  from  one 
part  of  the  building  to  another,  but  also  in  providing  all  suitable 
safeguards  against  fire."  * 

Iron,  whether  cast  or  wrought,  or  steel,  is  often  used  in  factory 
construction,  but  when  it  is  used,  it  should  be  protected  by 
sufficient  thickness  of  brick,  terra  cotta  or  concrete. 

Stone  is  sometimes  used,  but  its  use  must  be  limited,  as  it  is 
subject  to  disintegration  by  heat. 

Terra  cotta,  which  is  a  burnt-clay  material,  has  not  much  fire- 
resisting  quality,  although  when  properly  manufactured  and  of  a 
certain  thickness  it  is  often  used  as  a  protective  material  for  iron 

*  Quoted  by  Freitag,  p.  75. 


92  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

and  as  an  ornamental  covering  for  fa$ades  of  buildings.  The  best 
authorities,  however,  do  not  consider  terra  cotta  as  a  first-class 
fire-resisting  material. 

Brick  is  perhaps  one  of  the  best  materials  for  the  construction 
of  factories  because  of  the  fire-resisting  qualities  of  well-made  brick. 
The  fire-resisting  qualities  of  brick  have  been  proved  in  a  great 
many  fires,  and  nothing  has  as  yet  been  found  better  for  the  solid 
construction  of  a  fire  wall  or  as  a  protective  covering  for  metal  than 
good,  well-made  brick. 

Concrete,  which  is  a  mixture  of  cement,  sand  and  aggregate, 
usually  made  of  broken  stones,  cinders  or  some  other  material,  is 
considered  a  good  fire-resisting  material,  provided  the  aggregate 
is  not  made  of  soft-coal  cinders  and  provided  the  concrete  is  prop- 
erly made.  Concrete  is  subject  to  dehydration  when  exposed  to 
temperatures  over  600°  F.,  and  therefore  if  used  in  thin  layers  is 
apt  to  crumble  away  and  disintegrate  under  a  high  degree  of  heat, 
and  leave  the  columns,  protected  by  it,  exposed  to  the  heat.  Broken 
stones,  broken  brick  and  blast  furnace  slag  make  the  best  aggregate 
for  concrete.  For  the  protection  of  columns,  etc.,  it  must  be  used 
in  a  thickness  of  at  least  four  inches. 

Mortar  and  plaster  made  either  of  common  lime,  cement  or 
plaster  of  Paris,  when  mixed  in  the  right  proportions  and 
used  on  a  metal  lathing  or  wire  mesh  may  serve  as  good  fire- 
resisting  materials  for  inside  surfaces  of  walls,  ceilings  and  similar 
places. 

By  reinforced  concrete  is  meant  a  concrete  mixture  reinforced 
by  steel,  so  combined  that  the  steel  will  take  up  the  tensional 
stresses  and  will  assist  in  the  resistance  to  shear.  At  present  a  large 
number  of  buildings  are  being  constructed  of  reinforced  concrete, 
and  have  proved  to  be  fire-resisting  to  a  high  degree. 

Of  the  other  fire-resisting  materials  only  a  few  need  be  mentioned. 
Many  of  these  consist  of  some  composition  made  largely  of  a  form 
of  concrete  on  a  cement  base  or  one  that  has  a  proportion  of 
asbestos  in  it.  Asbestos  is  a  mineral  which  has  very  high  fire- 
resisting  qualities.  It  is  used  either  by  itself  or  in  mixture  in 
places  where  it  is  desired  to  have  a  specially  good  fire-resisting 
covering;  thus,  on  roofs,  around  steam  pipes,  etc. 

Wire  glass  is  a  glass  in  which  wire  is  embedded  in  the  process  of 
manufacture.  It  is  a  good  fire-retardant  material  when  not  less 
than  one-quarter  inch  thick,  and  is  often  used  for  windows  and 
doors. 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  93 

Other  materials  which  are  called  fireproof,  are,  of  course,  not 
fireproof  at  all,  but  possess  certain  fire-retardant  qualities,  and  are 
often  used  either  for  floors  and  trim  or  in  places  where  extra  fire 
hazards  exists;  and  where  materials  must  be  used  which  are  not 
easily  subject  to  ignition. 

Fireproof  wood  is  made  by  heating  blocks  of  wood,  extracting 
the  moisture  and  resin  of  the  wood  and  then  filling  the  pores 
under  pressure  with  ammonium  salts. 

Finally,  certain  paints  may  be  used  for  inside  surfaces,  which 
have  fire-retardant  qualities.  Among  these  may  be  included  plain 
whitewash,  which  is  said  by  some  authorities  to  "  give  excellent 
results,  and  is  the  equal,  if  not  the  superior,  of  many  of  the  so- 
called  fireproof  paints."  It  is  made  and  applied  as  follows: 

Slack  one-half  bushel  of  unslacked  lime  with  boiling  water, 
keeping  it  covered  during  the  process;  strain  it  and  add  a  peck  of 
salt  dissolved  in  warm  water;  three  pounds  of  ground  rice,  put  in 
boiling  water  and  boiled  to  a  thin  paste;  one-half  pound  powdered 
Spanish  whiting  and  a  pound  of  clear  glue  dissolved  in  hot  water; 
mix  these  well  together  and  let  the  mixture  stand  for  several  days. 
Keep  the  wash  thus  prepared  in  a  kettle  or  portable  furnace,  and 
when  used  put  on  as  hot  as  possible  with  painters'  or  whitewash 
brushes. 

Construction.  Important  as  are  the  materials  of  construction 
used  for  the  various  parts  of  a  building,  it  is  still  more  important 
to  use  those  materials  judiciously  in  order  to  bring  out  their 
advantages.  The  parts  of  the  construction  which  are  most  im- 
portant from  the  standpoint  of  fire  prevention  are  the  walls,  floors, 
partitions,  doors,  windows,  stairs,  shafts,  roofs,  etc. 

The  modern  requirement  for  walls  outside  of  their  bearing 
qualities  and  their  ornamentation  is  that  they  should  have  sufficient 
fire-resisting  qualities  to  act  as  fire  walls  either  between  separate 
buildings  or  within  one  building.  Such  walls  are  best  made  of 
good  hard-burned  brick  laid  in  the  best  of  cement  and  lime  mortar 
with  joints  flushed  full.  The  National  Fire  Protection  Association 
demands  that  such  wralls  must  not  be  less  than  sixteen  inches  thick 
for  the  two  upper  stories,  increasing  in  thickness  four  inches  each 
three  stories  below  or  fraction  thereof.  If  walls  are  over  one  hundred 
feet  high,  they  shall  be  four  inches  thicker  than  the  above  or  they 
shall  be  strengthened  by  piers  or  pilasters  placed  not  over  twenty 
feet  apart.  Thus,  an  eight-story  building  would  have  three  twenty- 
four-inch,  three  twenty-inch,  and  two  sixteen-inch  walls. 


THE  MODEBN  FACTORY 


Courtesy  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control. 


A  "Winder":    One  of  the  Most  Dangerous  Types  of  Stairways  in  Case 

of  Fire. 


FACTOEY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  95 

If  carried  on  steel  frame,  non-bearing  walls  for  skeleton  con- 
struction buildings  must  be  made  of  brick  not  less  than  twelve 
inches  thick  in  any  portion;  this,  in  addition  to  ornamental  facings 
or  any  other  materials. 

A  self-supporting  or  bearing  wall  must  not  be  less  than  sixteen 


Courtesy  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control. 

Dangerous  Interior  Stairway.     It  Leads  to  the  Top  Floor  of  a  Rear  Building 
and  has  Wooden  Treads. 


inches  thick  for  the  two  upper  stories,  with  the  same  requirements 
as  those  of  a  brick  bearing  wall.  All  vertical  metal  supports  must 
be  insulated  by  not  less  than  four  inches  of  brick  or  of  concrete  or 
of  terra  cotta  or  of  other  insulated  approved  material.  Brick  is 
preferred  for  column  covering,  as  it  has  been  proved  that  terra  cotta 
does  not  resist  fires  as  well  as  brick.  The  insulation  referred  to 


96  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

should  not  include  any  ornamentations  of  plaster  of  Paris,  etc. 
The  upper  face  of  the  upper  flanges  and  the  lower  face  and  edges 
of  lower  flanges  must  have  not  less  than  two  inches  of  brick  or 
concrete  or  other  approved  insulating  material. 

The  protection  of  columns  by  single  metal  and  plaster  coverings, 
even  by  double  metal  plastering  with  air  space,  is  not  as  good  as 
a  solid  covering  of  brick  or  of  concrete.  Concrete  when  used  should 
not  be  less  than  three  to  four  inches  in  thickness,  depending  upon  the 
size  of  the  column. 

The  general  construction  of  floors  depends  much  upon  the 
material  of  which  they  are  constructed,  the  number  of  stories  in 
the  building  and  the  type  of  construction.  Metal  floor  beams 
must  be  well  insulated  by  not  less  than  two  inches  of  terra  cotta 
or  concrete.  The  floor  beams  must  be  properly  spaced  so  as  to 
carry  the  superimposed  weight;  and  the  National  Board  of  Fire 
Protection  has  detailed  instructions  as  to  the  approved  kind  of 
brick,  terra  cotta,  or  other  materials  for  arches  and  for  floors  in 
general. 

The  floor  must  be  of  non-inflammable  material  and  a  concrete 
of  good  quality  must  be  used  to  fill  the  space  between  the  flooring 
and  the  arches,  and  a  cement  top  for  the  floors  or  a  fire-resisting 
wood  should  be  used  for  the  floor  surfaces. 

Partitions  are  too  often  constructed  of  flimsy  materials;  such 
as  thin  pine  boards.  Such  partitions  are  a  menace  to  the  safety 
of  the  workers  in  a  factory,  since  they  hamper  escape  and  spread 
the  fire  throughout  the  whole  building.  If  partiticns  are  to  be 
used  for  purposes  of  vertical  isolation  they  must  be  made  of  fire- 
resisting  materials.  The  best  partitions  are  those  made  of  brick, 
but  these  may  be  too  heavy  or  expensive.  Metal  studs  with  metal 
lathing  and  plastering  of  four-inch  thickness;  terra  cotta  well  burned 
and  laid  in  lime  and  cement  mortar;  a  concrete  partition,  or  one  of 
plaster  boards  properly  made,  neither  resting  on  wooden  floors  nor 
using  wooden  studs,  or  framing  and  plaster  of  Paris,  may  serve  as 
barriers  to  the  spread  of  fires. 

Doors.  It  is  absurd  to  construct  walls  or  partitions  as  efficient 
barriers  against  the  spread  of  fire,  and  at  the  same  time  close  the 
openings  within  these  walls  and  partitions  with  non-fire-resisting 
materials,  which  allow  the  spread  of  fire  through  them.  It  is  obvious 
that  doors  and  windows  in  walls  and  partitions  must  be  no  less  fire- 
resistant  than  the  walls  and  partitions  in  which  they  are  framed. 
The  materials  of  which  doors  are  made  are  various;  some  of  them 


FACTOEY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION 


97 


are  wood,  metal  protected;  others  are  wholly  made  of  metal  or  of  a 
composition,  or  are  of  hollow  metal  construction. 

The  method  of  construction  must  naturally  depend  upon  various 
factors;  but  in  order  to  resist  fire,  not  only  the  material  of  doors 
but  their  frames  and  manner  of  hanging  are  vitally  important. 
The  National  Board  of  Fire  Underwriters  has  issued  detailed  and 
specific  rules  as  to  doors,  and  in  all  new  buildings  as  well  as  in  some 
older  buildings,  it  is  best  to  follow  these  specifications. 


Courtesy  J.  K.  Freltag. 
'Fire  Prevention  and  Fire  Protectioc." 

Automatic  Vertical  Fire  Door. 


Courtesy  J.  K.  Freltag. 
"Fire  Prevention  and  Fire  Protection.!' 

Automatically  Closing  Sheet-metal 
Window. 


Some  of  the  provisions  which  apply  to  doors  also  apply  to  win- 
dows: to  the  frame,  sash,  trim  and  to  the  manner  of  putting  windows 
into  position.  Windows  in  all  factories  should  be  made  of  wire 
glass  of  at  least  one-quarter  inch  thickness.  Iron  or  other  metal 
shutters  are  also  often  used  for  preventing  exposure  to  fires  through 
windows;  and  certain  rules  are  made  for  the  sheet  iron,  corrugated 
iron  or  other  forms  of  shutters  where  these  are  needed.  There  are 
also  several  devices  by  which  windows  may  be  protected  against 
outside  exposure  to  fires,  such  as  automatic  sprinklers. 


98  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  necessity  of  horizontal  isolation. 
Such  isolation  is  accomplished  by  the  floors,  for  which  detailed 
specifications  are  given  by  municipal  and  state  building  codes. 
In  every  building,  however,  the  difficulty  of  horizontal  isolation  is 
very  great  on  account  of  the  necessity  of  communication  between 
stories,  which  is  often  impossible  without  piercing  the  floors  which 
separate  one  story  from  another.  Stairways,  elevators,  hoistways, 
courts  and  shafts  are  difficult  to  construct  without  open  communi- 
cation from  the  lower  to  the  upper  stories.  Plumbing,  heating,  and 
other  pipes,  electric  wiring  and  transmission  of  belts,  etc.,  are  perhaps 
a  lesser  evil.  The  present  progress  of  mechanical  science  makes 
such  connections  easy  to  protect.  In  some  buildings  all  pipes  are 
carried  within  the  supporting  columns  in  special  pipe  receptacles, 
while  in  all  buildings  all  pipe  openings  should  be  well  protected 
not  only  by  floor  and  ceiling  metal  plates,  but  by  a  covering  of 
cement  or  other  approved  fire-resisting  material.  With  the  progress 
of  the  application  of  electricity  to  industry,  the  need  of  running 
power  transmission  belts,  shafts,  etc.,  through  floors  is  practically 
eliminated,  and  such  piercing  of  floors  should  not  be  permitted 
under  any  circumstances. 

Courts  between  or  within  buildings  which  are  covered  at  the 
top,  and  constitute  one  unobstructed  opening  from  bottom  to  top 
are  very  dangerous.  The  same,  of  course,  is  true  of  the  vertical 
openings,  in  which  are  located  stairs,  elevators  and  hoistways. 
The  Committee  of  the  National  Fire  Protection  Association  sums 
up  this  evil  and  its  prevention  succinctly,  as  follows : 

"  Vertical  openings  throughout  buildings  as  far  as  stairs  and 
elevators  are  concerned,  rapidly  communicate  fire  to  all  stories. 
With  buildings  of  considerable  height  or  combustible  contents, 
this  is  likely  to  result  in  fire  conditions  beyond  fire  department 
control.  All  such  floor  openings  should  be  enclosed  in  brick-wall 
shafts,  crowned  by  thin  glass  skylight,  and  extended  through  roofs 
with  fire  doors  with  openings  to  stories.  Any  enclosed  vertical 
openings  are  considered  to  be  the  most  prominent  features  contrib- 
uting to  the  fire  cost  and  loss  of  life.  Neglect  to  guard  these 
openings  is  common  throughout  the  country.  Pains  should  be 
taken  to  rectify  this  condition  in  all  existing  buildings  as  well  as  in 
those  hereafter  erected,  particularly  of  mercantile,  manufacture  or 
storage  occupancy." 

Perhaps  the  ideal  mode  of  constructing  a  building  with  a  number 
of  stories  superimposed  one  upon  another,  would  be  to  have  no 
communication  whatever  within  the  building  between  floor  and 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  99 

floor,  but  to  have  all  stairs  outside  of  the  building;  and  perhaps  it 
is  best  to  have  a  separate  stairway  leading  from  each  floor  to  a 
separate  place.  As  we  cannot  get  this  ideal  isolation,  then  we  must 
insist  that  any  openings  found  in  the  building,  whether  for  light, 
or  for  stairways,  or  for  elevators  and  hoistways,  should  be  entirely 
separated  from  the  building  by  an  enclosure  of  fire-resisting  walls 
and  by  fire-resisting  doors.  The  enclosure  of  these  openings  should 
be  made  of  the  same  material  used  for  fire  walls,  with  a  minimum 
wall  thickness  of  at  least  six  inches,  and  the  best  material  is  well- 
laid  brick.  Shafts  should  extend  above  the  roof  and  have  a  sky- 
light of  thin  glass  protected  by  standard  wire  screens  both  above 


Courtesy  J.  K.  Freltag. 

Stairway  Adjacent  to  Elevator  Well. 

and  below  the  glass.  There  should  also  be  a  ventilator  on  top  of  the 
shaft.  Standard  fire  doors  should  be  placed  at  the  openings  to 
each  floor.  All  shafts  used  for  ventilating  or  for  light  should  be 
enclosed  in  the  same  manner. 

The  proper  construction  of  the  stairs,  of  the  strings,  risers, 
treads  and  rails,  the  materials  of  which  each  part  of  the  stair  should 
be  constructed,  are  all  given  in  detail  in  the  municipal,  state  and 
fire  underwriters'  rules  and  regulations. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  at  present  there  is  a  tendency 
to  construct  stairways  in  separate  towers  not  connected  with  the 
floors,  and  separated  on  each  floor  not  only  by  fire-resisting  doors 


100  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

but  also  by  balconies,  so  that  these  towers  are  practically  independent 
of  each  floor,  and  not  only  fireproof  but  also  smokeproof.  The 
cuts  on  pages  123  and  125  illustrate  the  present  requirements  of 
some  codes. 

Wherever  stairways  or  similar  means  of  escape  are  used,  they 
should  be  extended  to  the  roof  of  the  building,  which  is  often  the 
best  means  of  escape  from  fire,  especialty  when  adjacent  buildings  are 
of  about  the  same  height;  so  that  those  escaping  may  reach  the  zone 
of  safety  on  the  roofs  of  adjacent  buildings.  Such  stairs  leading 
to  the  roof  should  be  provided  with  fire-resisting  doors  and  auto- 
matic fastenings. 

In  regard  to  stairways,  the  treads  are  of  importance,  as  certain 
materials,  such  as  stone,  are  not  permissible,  because  they  crumble 
and  disintegrate  under  the  influence  of  heat.  Stairways  of  plain 
iron  easily  become  heated,  and  may  burn  the  persons  using  them. 
Slate  and  marble  treads  and  platforms  are  often  used  and  are  also 
not  very  fire-resisting.  The  present  New  York  Building  Code 
makes  the  following  provision  for  stairways: 

"  In  all  buildings  hereafter  erected  of  more  than  seven  stories 
in  height,  where  treads  and  landings  of  iron  stairs  are  of  slate, 
marble  or  other  stones,  they  shall  each  be  supported  directly  under- 
neath for  their  entire  length  and  width,  by  an  iron  plate  made  solid 
or  having  openings  not  exceeding  four  inches  in  same,  of  adequate 
strength  and  securely  fastened  to  the  strings.  In  case  such  sup- 
porting plates  be  made  solid,  the  treads  may  be  of  oak  not  less  than 
If  inches  thick.  In  connection  with  stairways,  it  is  also  important 
to  have  proper  railings  on  all  sides  of  a  stairway.  Such  railings 
must  be  made  of  iron  or  gas  piping." 

Of  the  width,  etc.,  of  stairways,  we  shall  speak  later 

IV 
THE  CONTROL  OF  FIRES 

Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  safety.  Fire  is  a  treacherous 
enemy  and  is  apt  to  appear  at  unexpected  times  and  places.  Con- 
stant watchfulness  is  absolutely  indispensable  on  the  part  of  the 
occupants  of  a  factory  building,  if  it  is  desired  to  discover  fires  as 
soon  as  they  originate  and  at  their  places  of  origin;  for  only  at  such 
times  may  small  fires  be  prevented  from  becoming  conflagrations, 
and  only  by  early  and  quick  extinction  of  small  fires  may  loss  of 
property  and  perhaps  loss  of  life  be  prevented. 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  101 

Not  only  is  it  necessary  to  discover  fires  early,  but  it  is  also 
imperative  for  those  who  detect  fire  to  be  able  to  communicate  the 
knowledge  of  its  presence  to  the  persons  who  can  control  and  fight 
it.  Watchmen  who  are  constantly  on  duty  should  be  employed  by 
owners  of  factory  buildings.  Such  watchmen  are  often  employed 
in  large  establishments  during  the  night,  but  for  the  safety  of  the 
workers  therein,  no  large  industrial  establishment  should  be  with- 
out a  watchman  during  the  day  as  well.  In  order  to  control 
these  watchmen,  certain  devices  have  been  invented.  These  devices 
consist  of  recording  watches  and  clocks,  either  portable  or  station- 
ary, which  the  watchman  is  supposed  to  operate  at  certain  intervals, 
and  which  show  the  owner  of  the  building  that  the  watchman  is 
doing  his  duty. 

Another  means  of  detecting  fires  is  by  the  use  of  thermostats 
or  interior  alarms.  These  are  devices  so  constructed  that  cer- 
tain parts  made  of  fusible  solder  are  quickly  affected  by  heat.  When 
the  heat  reaches  a  certain  degree,  those  parts  melt  and  complete 
an  electrical  circuit  which  operates  a  transmitting  mechanism, 
sending  the  alarm  to  other  parts  of  the  building  or  outside.  Ther- 
mostats are  used  in  places  where  fires  may  easily  originate:  in 
cellars,  bins,  closets,  etc. 

Fire-alarm  systems  may  communicate  in  the  interior  of  a  build- 
ing, or  may  be  connected  outside  of  the  factory  with  the  central  fire- 
alarm  station  or  with  the  fire  department  direct.  Manual  fire- 
alarm  boxes  are  so  constructed  that  when  a  lever  is  pulled  or  a 
button  is  pushed,  the  gongs  ring  throughout  the  building  a  stated 
number  of  times,  indicating  the  number  of  the  floor  on  which  the 
alarm  is  given.  Most  of  these  fire-alarm  boxes  are  glass  covered, 
and  it  is  necessary  to  break  the  glass  before  being  able  to  reach  the 
lever.  Municipal  fire  departments  as  well  as  the  underwriters  have 
detailed  rules  in  regard  to  the  kind  of  automatic  or  manual  alarm 
boxes  to  be  used,  the  place  where  they  are  to  be  located,  the  con- 
duits and  wiring  which  connect  the  alarm  box  with  the  various  alarm 
stations  within  the  building,  the  enunciators  on  the  main  floor,  the 
source  of  the  power  to  be  used,  and  all  other  details  of  construction. 
The  fire-alarm  system  and  each  part  of  it  must  be  frequently  tested. 

The  New  Jersey  factory  law  requires  factory  buildings  of  more 
than  two  stories  in  height  to  be  equipped  with  a  system  of  fire 
alarms  with  large  gongs  located  on  each  floor  of  the  factory  building, 
and  within  each  separate  room,  where  more  than  one  factory  is 
located  on  a  single  floor.  This  system  is  to  be  so  installed  as  to 


102  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

permit  the  sounding  of  all  alarm  gongs  within  the  building  whenever 
the  alarm  is  sounded  in  any  part  of  it.  The  means  of  sounding 
these  alarms  must  be  placed  within  easy  access  of  all  operatives  in 
the  factory  or  the  room,  and  must  be  plainly  labeled.  The  system 
of  fire  alarms  is  not  to  be  used  for  any  other  purpose  than  in  case 
of  fire  or  fire  drill.  The  New  York  State  law  also  demands  fire-alarm 
systems  to  be  installed  in  all  factory  buildings  and  stipulates  that 
such  fire  alarms  must  be  connected  with  the  Fire  Department. 

Extinguishing  of  Fires.  There  should  be  in  each  factory  some 
means  by  which  a  small  fire  may  be  readily  and  quickly  extinguished 
before  it  becomes  uncontrollable.  The  means  of  extinguishing 
fires  within  a  building  are  the  following:  (1)  by  water  buckets, 
so-called  fire  pails;  (2)  by  mechanical  extinguishers,  such  as  sand, 
etc.;  (3)  by  chemical  extinguishers;  (4)  by  standpipe  and  hose;  and 
(5)  by  automatic  sprinklers. 

Water  pails,  which  are  so  often  the  only  means  used  in  large 
as  well  as  in  small  factories  for  extinguishing  fires,  are  made  of 
galvanized  iron,  round  or  flat  bottom  (must  never  be  of  wood), 
usually  painted  red,  and  lettered  with  the  word  "  FIRE."  They 
are  filled  with  water  and  set  on  hooks,  benches  or  shelves,  and  are 
used  in  case  of  small  fires.  An  insufficient  number  of  fire  pails 
is  usually  found  in  factories;  the  water  is  not  often  changed,  and 
frequently  evaporates;  and  on  inspection,  one  often  discovers  these 
pails  either  only  one-third  full  or  covered  with  a  slimy  film,  and  placed 
in  corners  and  out-of-the-way  places  where  their  location  is  unknown 
•  and  their  use  problematic  in  case  of  fire. 

The  requirements  of  the  New  York  Fire  Department  are  two 
pails  for  every  one  thousand  square  feet.  They  must  be  set  in 
special  places  easily  reached  and  seen,  and  must  not  be  placed 
higher  than  4^  feet  or  lower  than  2  feet  from  the  floor.  Fire  pails 
must  have  a  capacity  of  at  least  ten  or  twelve  quarts.  The  fire  pails 
should  be  so  distributed  that  they  will  be  near  at  hand  in  every 
part  of  the  building.  In  certain  sections  where  inflammable 
materials  may  accumulate,  an  extra  number  of  these  pails  should 
be  placed.  They  should  also  be  placed  near  exits,  and  somebody 
should  be  charged  with  the  duty  of  refilling  them  at  least  once  every 
three  or  four  days. 

When  fire  pails  are  placed  where  the  water  is  liable  to  freeze 
in  cold  weather,  some  anti-freezing  mixture  should  be  dissolved 
in  the  water.  Chloride  of  lime  is  the  best  mixture  for  this 
purpose. 


FACTOEY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION 


103 


Ring  Handle 


Lead  stopper. 


An  improvement  upon  the  common  fire  pail  is  the  metal  bucket 
tank,  painted  red,  plainly  labeled  and  containing  six  pails  one  in 
another,  so  that  when  each  pail  is  taken  out  it  is  automatically 
filled  with  water.  Bucket  tanks  are  usually  covered,  the  cover 
easily  opened  and  the  pails  withdrawn  without  difficulty. 

Where  oils  or  other  volatile  liquids  are  stored,  water  is  not  a 
satisfactory  extinguishing  agent.  For  this  purpose  sawdust,  sand, 
sodium  bicarbonate,  or  carbon  tetrachloride  should  be  kept. 

Chemical  Fire  Extinguishers.  There  are  few  extinguishers 
which  may  truly  be  called  chemical. 
The  use  of  certain  chemical  powders 
in  tubes,  etc.,  has  not  been  found 
practicable,  and  there  are  as  yet 
very  few  extinguishers  in  which  a 
chemical  powder  or  solution  is 
used  which  can  be  depended  upon 
to  work  properly.  The  name  of 
chemical  extinguisher  is  usually 
applied  to  a  device  consisting  of  a 
can  filled  with  a  weak  solution  of 
sodium  bicarbonate,  and  containing 
in  a  glass  a  certain  amount  of  sul- 
phuric acid  which,  when  liberated 
into  the  sodium  bicarbonate  solution 
contained  in  the  tank,  produces 
carbonic  acid  gas.  The  consequent 
pressure  produced  within  the  tank 
lets  the  water  out  through  an  open- 
ing in  a  hose  under  a  certain  pres- 
sure, thus  extinguishing  the  fire 
chiefly  by  the  water  and  only  in 
small  part  through  the  fire  extin- 
guishing quality  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

For  these  so-called  chemical  extinguishers  the  requirements 
are  the  following:  a  tank,  a  glass  container,  a  hose.  The  tank  is 
usually  made  of  copper  and  must  be  strong  enough  to  withstand  a 
pressure  of  350  pounds  per  square  inch,  and  the. hose,  which  is  usually 
made  of  the  same  strength,  should  be  provided  with  a  lead  nozzle  of 
about  one-eighth  to  three-sixteenth-inch  outlet  without  any  shut-off 
stopcock.  The  tank,  which  is  usually  made  to  contain,  when  full, 
about  thirty-five  pounds,  is  filled  with  water,  in  which  sodium 


J.  K.  Fre.tag. 


Chemical  Fire  Extinguisher. 


104 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


bicarbonate  is  dissolved.  The  solution  is  made  by  mixing  1J  pounds 
of  bicarbonate  of  soda  in  2^  gallons  of  water,  stirring  the  mixture 
until  the  soda  is  dissolved. 

The  glass  container  in  the  common  extinguishers  consists  of  a 
bottle  containing  four  fluid  ounces  of  commercial  sulphuric  acid. 
There  is  usually  a  mark  indicated  in  the  bottle  above  which  no 
acid  should  be  put  in.  The  acid  bottle  is  fitted  with  a  lead  stopper, 
so  that  when  the  tank  is  turned  over  the  stopper  is  released  and  the 
acid  slowly  drops  out  of  the  bottle,  mixes  with  the  sodium  bicar- 
bonate solution  within  the  container,  and  goes  through  the  wire 
screen  opening  with  which  the  rubber  and  linen  hose  is  coupled, 
through  which  the  solution  comes  out  with  considerable  force. 


J.  K.  Freitag.  Courtesy  J.  K.  Freltag. 

"Sanitary"  Fire  Bucket.  Safety  Fire  Bucket  Tank. 

From  J.  K.  Frettag's  "Fire  Prevention  and  Fire  Protection." 


It  is  best  not  to  rely  upon  these  chemical  fire  extinguishers, 
but  to  keep  them  in  addition  to  the  common  fire  pails.  The  extin- 
guishers must  also  be  frequently  tested  to  see  that  the  solution 
within  them  is  not  frozen  or  has  not  come  out  and  also  that  the 
glass  container  has  not  lost  its  sulphuric  acid  contents.  The  placing 
of  the  extinguishers  should  be  similar  to  that  of  the  fire  pails.  In  case 
of  fire,  these  extinguishers  are  carried  in  their  usual  position,  and 
only  when  reaching  the  fire  should  they  be  tipped  upside-down. 

The  extinguishers  are  valuable  especially  in  small  fires,  in  hidden 
places  under  floors,  in  enclosed  spaces,  boxes,  etc.,  or  in  fires  which 
are  overhead  and  are  not  so  easily  reached  by  ordinary  fire  pails. 
Care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  extinguishers  always  in  good 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  105 

order,  and  a  special  person  should  be  charged  with  their  care  and 
also  with  their  use  in  case  of  need. 

Standpipe  and  Hose.  By  standpipe  is  usually  meant  a  vertical 
iron  pipe  of  sufficient  capacity,  connected  with  the  ordinary  city  or 
town  water  pressure,  or  with  a  special  water  system,  to  be  used  in 
case  of  fires  only.  This  pipe  is  always  rilled  with  water,  and  has 
couplings  and  valves  on  each  floor  to  which  a  line  of  stout  hose  is 
attached,  and  through  which  a  stream  of  water  may  be  trained 
on  the  fire. 

Specific  requirements  are  made  by  municipal  departments  and 
by  fire  underwriters  for  the  material  of  the  pipe,  the  size,  according 
to  the  character  and  height  of  the  building,  the  character  of  the 
couplings  and  valves,  the  diameter  of  the  same,  the  material,  size 
and  diameter  of  the  hose  which  is  used,  the  nozzles  to  which  the  hose 
is  joined  and  the  location  not  only  of  the  pipe,  but  also  of  the  hose, 
etc.  Such  auxiliary  means  of  fighting  fires  are  very  important 
in  industrial  establishments,  especially  those  of  great  height;  and  of 
course  care  must  be  taken  that  there  is  constant  and  abundant 
water  under  pressure  either  from  the  street  or  from  tanks  on  the  roof 
or  top  floor  and  that  the  couplings,  valves,  hose  and  nozzles  are 
in  proper  condition,  ready  for  use,  and  also  that  there  are  some 
persons  within  the  buildings  to  care  for  this  part  of  the  auxiliary 
apparatus,  and  who  are  charged  with  the  duty  of  using  it  in  case 
of  need. 

Automatic  Sprinklers.  Perhaps  the  greatest  beneficial  invention 
of  the  last  century  in  regard  to  fire  protection  and  prevention  con- 
sists of  the  sprinkler  system.  The  principle  of  the  sprinkler 
system  of  extinguishing  fire  is  simple.  It  simply  provides  a  suffi- 
cient amount  of  water  under  pressure  carried  through  the  building 
by  a  pipe  and  extending  into  the  network  of  pipes  under  the  ceilings 
of  each  room  to  be  protected  by  the  sprinkler  system.  At  certain 
intervals,  ten  to  twelve  feet  apart,  there  is  an  opening  in  the  system 
of  overhead  pipes  through  which  water  may  come  out  either  directly 
in  one  stream  or  in  a  shower  through  larger  or  smaller  openings, 
each  opening  covering  a  certain  area. 

The  modern  system  of  sprinkler  is  the  so-called  "  automatic 
wet-pipe  system."  All  the  pipes  are  constantly  filled  with  water 
under  pressure,  and  the  perforations  or  openings  in  the  overhead 
network  of  pipes,  instead  of  being  unprotected,  are  closed  by 
sprinkler  heads,  consisting  of  a  device  fitted  with  fusible  metal 
which  melts  at  a  certain  temperature,  usually  about  160  degrees  F. 


106 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


As  soon,  therefore,  as  there  is  a  fire  at  a  certain  spot,  the  heat  of 
which  reaches  the  sprinkler  head  under  the  ceiling,  the  fusible 
metal  melts,  the  head  opens,  and  a  stream  of  water  under  pressure, 
sufficient  to  extinguish  the  fire,  is  let  loose.  Of  course,  much  depends 
upon  the  proper  and  careful  installation  of  the  whole  system  as  well 
as  upon  the  quality  of  the  material  used  for  each  part  of  the  system, 
and  the  pressure  of  water  available. 

In  view  of  the  very  great  importance  which  is  attached  by 
insurance  companies,  underwriters  and  municipal  departments 
to  the  proper  installation  of  an  automatic  fire  sprinkler  system, 


"Grinnell" 
Sprinkler  Head  Open. 


"Esty" 
Sprinkler  Head. 


"Grinnell" 
Sprinkler  Head. 


Courtesy  J.  K.  Freltag,  ''Fire  Prevention  and  Fire  Protection." 

and  also  in  view  of  the  great  utility  of  this  system,  which  has  been 
proved  over  and  over  again,  strict  and  minute  specifications  are 
made  for  the  proper  installation  of  such  system  in  each  building. 
Proper  provision  is  made  for  a  large  supply  of  water  under  pressure, 
either  from  the  city  water  system  or  from  roof  tanks,  the  material, 
size  and  location  of  the  pipes,  and  of  the  risers  (as  those  pipes  are 
called  which  are  carried  vertically  through  the  house),  as  well  as 
the  plan  of  the  network  of  the  pipes  installed  throughout  the  build- 
ing under  the  ceilings,  and  especially  the  kind  of  sprinkler  heads 
used.  It  is  unnecessary  to  go  into  the  details,  which  may  be 
found  in  the  printed  requirements  of  the  fire  underwriters. 

Control  of  Fires.  Aside  from  the  various  devices  and  apparata 
used  for  extinguishing  fires  within  the  rooms  and  buildings  in  which 
they  are  liable  to  occur,  there  are  in  every  municipality  special  fire 


FACTOKY  FIRES  AND  THEIE  PREVENTION  107 

fighting  institutions,  which  have  charge  of  the  prevention  and  ex- 
tinguishing of  fires  within  the  precincts  of  the  municipality.  These 
institutions  usually  consist  of  highly  trained  specialists  and  experts 
in  handling  fires,  have  usually  a  uniformed  force  under  strict 
discipline  and  always  on  duty,  and  are  assisted  by  mechanical 
appliances  and  apparata  for  extinguishing  fires,  for  reaching  fires 
and  for  controlling  fires. 

In  a  number  of  large  industrial  establishments,  local  fire  fighting 
corps  have  been  organized,  and  are  of  very  great  service  and  value. 
Such  organizations  are  usually  miniature  copies  of  the  larger 
municipal  fire  fighting  institutions  and  possess,  as  a  rule,  most  of 
the  fire  fighting  appliances  used  by  larger  fire  departments.  The 
number  of  large  industrial  establishments  which  have  organized 
their  own  fire  departments  is  not  as  yet  very  large,  but  it  is  increas- 
ing rapidly,  and  it  is  the  hope  of  those  interested  in  fire  protection 
that  each  large  industrial  establishment,  especially  those  located 
outside  of  city  limits  and  not  within  easy  reach  of  municipal  fire 
departments,  will  install  and  organize  such  a  system, 


LOSS  OF  LIFE  IN  INDUSTRIAL  FIRES 

Mention  has  been  made  in  the  first  section  of  this  chapter  of  the 
fact  that  no  data  is  available  as  to  the  number  of  lives  lost  in 
industrial  fires,  except  when  fires  are  accompanied  by  great  loss  of  life 
under  spectacular  conditions.  In  addition  to  the  actual  loss  of  life 
there  are  undoubtedly  a  large  number  of  persons  who  suffer  various 
injuries,  and  others  who  are  disabled  by  the  mental  and  nervous 
shock  concomitant  with  those  fires. 

Analyzing  the  causes  of  loss  of  life  in  fires  occurring  in  industrial 
establishments,  we  come  to  the  conclusion  that  they  may  all  be 
grouped  under  four  divisions:  (1)  causes  due  to  the  inflammable 
contents,  overcrowding  and  the  heights  of  factories  and  workshops; 

(2)  to  the  improper  facilities  for  egress  from  each  floor  of  the  factory; 

(3)  lack  of  proper  means  of  egress  from  the  building;  and  (4)  panics. 
The  first  group  has  already  been  partly  discussed.     Reference 

has  been  made  to  the  inflammable  contents  of  a  building,  especially 
those  buildings  in  industrial  centers  where  clothing,  textiles  and  other 
milars  inflammable  materials  are  being  worked  at,  and  to  the 


108 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


custom  of  keeping  these  materials  in  wooden  boxes  on  wooden 
shelves,  etc.  Reference  has  also  been  made  to  the  fact  that  a 
great  many  buildings,  especially  tenant  factories,  are  of  such  great 
height  that  a  fire  occurring  in  such  buildings  causes  panics  and 


NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  WORKING  ON  AND  ABOVE  THE  SIXTH  FLOOR 

Cloak  and  Suit  Industry          Dress  and  Waist  Industry 


24.36% 
Women 


69.12% 
Women 


3000   4000    5000 


Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control. 

unnecessary  loss  of  life.  Moreover,  the  difficulty  of  fighting  fires 
occurring  in  lofts  above  the  fifth  story,  has  justified  a  great  many 
fire  experts  in  declaring  that  a  fire  above  a  certain  height  is  im- 
possible to  control. 

There  are  certain  industries  in  large  cities  like  New  York  and 
Chicago,  which  are  concentrated  in  loft  buildings  in  certain  zones 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  109 

of  the  city,  and  in  which  a  large  part  of  the  working  population  is 
employed  above  the  fifth  floor.  In  an  investigation  of  the  cloak 
and  suit  industry,  and  the  dress  and  waist  industry  made  in  1913, 
it  was  found  that  a  large  number  of  workers,  among  them  a  very 
large  percentage  of  women,  are  working  above  the  fifth  floor,  and 
some  of  them  as  high  as  the  twentieth  floor.  The  graphic  chart 
on  page  108  shows  the  number  of  employes  in  the  two  industries 
mentioned  working  on  each  of  the  floors  above  the  fifth. 

An  additional  hazard  in  extremely  high  buildings  is  the  over- 
crowding of  employes  on  each  floor,  an  overcrowding  which  is 
noticeable  in  the  so-called  seasonal  trades.  Loft  buildings  are 
usually  constructed  without  any  reference  to  the  purposes  for 
which  they  are  to  be  used.  The  builder  simply  constructs  a  loft 
building  from  eight  to  twenty  stories  in  a  four-walled  enclosed 
space.  The  occupant  of  a  single  loft  or  several  floors  begins  by 
dividing  the  space  into  compartments,  according  to  his  own  needs. 
The  division  and  separation  is  not  done  by  the  original  builder  or 
by  the  municipal  authorities,  but  is  accomplished  by  the  occupant 
of  the  loft.  The  partitions  are  of  flimsy  construction  and  of  the 
most  inflammable  material.  The  so-called  fireproof  loft  is  thus 
changed  into  a  far  from  fireproof  partitioned  factory.  The  floors 
are  all  of  wood  and  are  very  often  oil  soaked  from  the  machine 
drippings  or  from  the  processes  carried  on.  The  .incoming  and 
outgoing  goods  are  packed  in  pine- wood  boxes,  the  goods  are  stored 
on  wooden  shelves,  and  paper  boxes  are  strewn  all  over  the  floor. 

There  was  no  limitation  in  any  of  the  states  (until  the  New  York 
State  law  of  1913)  placed  on  the  number  of  persons  allowed 
to  be  employed  on  one  floor,  except  a  provision  for  250  to  400  cubic 
feet  of  space  for  each  occupant.  Outside  of  this  limitation,  which 
has  very  little  scientific  foundation,  it  has  been  found  that  the 
number  of  persons  employed  on  one  floor  is  frequently  entirely 
disproportionate  to  the  floor  space. 

The  remedies  for  these  evils  which  are  such  a  prolific  cause  of 
the  loss  of  life  in  factory  fires  have  been  referred 'to  previously, 
and  consist  of  the  following:  As  to  waste  in  buildings — metal- 
covered  boxes  for  storing  all  inflammable  materials  should  be  sub- 
stituted for  the  customary  wooden  boxes.  All  clippings,  rubbish, 
and  accumulated  waste  material  should  be  removed  two  or  three 
times  a  day  from  each  floor  and  at  least  once  a  day  from  the  building. 
As  to  overcrowding  and  extreme  height  of  buildings — this  is  a  most 
difficult  problem  and  one  with  which  a  great  many  states  and  muni- 


110  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

cipal  authorities  are  grappling.  Various  schemes  have  been  proposed, 
such  as  (1)  decentralization  of  industries;  (2)  removing  industries 
from  the  centers  of  the  cities  to  outlying  precincts;  (3)  inducing 
employers  to  locate  their  establishments  in  smaller  buildings  in  com- 
munities in  outlying  precincts;  (4)  regulating  the  construction  of 
buildings  and  prohibiting  the  construction  of  buildings  above  a 
certain  story  according  to  various  industrial  zones  in  the  city; 
(5)  limiting  of  occupancy  of  a  floor  of  a  building  by  provisions  for 
the  proportionate  employment  of  persons  according  to  floor  space, 
and  according  to  width  and  means  of  exit.  The  New  York  State  Law 
of  1913  is  one  of  the  first  attempts  to  provide  for  the  regulation  of 
occupancy  of  factory  buildings,  and  the  provisions  of  this  law  are  given 
in  the  appendix.  Briefly,  they  consist  in  proportioning  the  number  of 


Economy  Metal  Furniture  Co. 


Metal  Boxes  for  Clippings  and  Waste.     They  open  at  the  side  and  may  be  kept 
under  the  work  tables. 

persons  allowed  to  work  on  a  floor  according  to  the  width  of  the 
stairway  as  well  as  to  the  means  of  extinguishing  fires  in  a  building, 
allowing  fourteen  persons  for  every  eighteen  inches  width  of  stair- 
way, and  increasing  the  permissible  number  of  occupants  if  the 
building  is  provided  with  a  fire  wall  or  automatic  sprinklers. 

Egress  Facilities  from  Floor.  Loss  of  life  is  caused  by  improper 
and  inadequate  means  of  egress  from  each  floor.  In  case  of  fire, 
where  there  are  a  large  number  of  persons  working  on  a  floor, 
all  must  go  through  the  exits  in  as  short  a  time  as  possible.  These 
exits  are  the  windows  and  doors.  If  then  these  doors  and  windows 
are  insufficient  or  improperly  constructed,  and  if  the  aisles  and 
passageways  throughout  the  factory  are  so  filled  with  obstructions 
.that  the  workers  are  unable  to  reach  those  means  of  exit  quickly,  it 
is  but  natural  for  a  panic  and  loss  of  life  to  ensue. 

The  proper  construction  of  doors,  their  number,  width,  method 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  HI 

of  closing,  etc.,  are  of  course  of  the  utmost  importance.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  at  present  we  find  on  inspection  a  number  of  factories 
with  large  floor  space  having  but  one  or  two  door  openings,  some- 
times located  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  from  the  place  of  work — 
doors  which  are  sometimes  so  narrow  that  two  persons  can  scarcely 
pass  through  side  by  side.  Add  to  these  evils  the  fact  that  a  largo 
number  of  doors  in  industrial  establishments  are  made  to  open 
inwardly,  so  that  if  the  door  is  closed  the  persons  rushing  to  the 
exits  form  a  wedge  which  obstructs  the  passage  and  leads  inevitably 
to  loss  of  life. 

In  an  investigation  of  the  cloak  and  suit  industry   in    1912, 
out  of  1800  factories  investigated,  1379  were  found  in  which  doors 


Courtesy  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control. 

Tenant  Factory  with  Window  to  Fire-escape  Barred  and  only  Measuring 

17X36  Inches. 

opened  inwardly;  and  while  this  number  has  been  greatly  reduced 
within  the  last  two  or  three  years,  43.8  per  cent  of  the  factories  in 
this  industry  and  31.98  per  cent  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry 
still  have  doors  opening  inwardly.  Not  only  do  these  doors  prove 
an  obstruction  to  egress,  but  a  large  number  of  them  are  locked 
from  the  inside  with  such  locks  that  it  takes  time  to  have  them 
opened.  The  number  of  prosecutions  by  the  labor  department- 
against  owners  of  shops  in  which  inspectors  find  doors  locked  is 
considerable. 

The  windows  in  a  great  many  industrial  establishments  are 
easily  destroyed  by  exposure  to  fires.  Those  windows  which  lead 
to  fire  escapes  are  usually  of  the  sa^h  variety,  and  it  is  often  difficult 
to  raise  them  either  because  of  their  natural  weight  or  because  of 
some  defect  in  their  construction.  Moreover,  the  height  of  the 


112  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

sill  under  these  windows  renders  escape  through  them  very  difficult, 
especially  for  women  and  minors,  because  of  the  necessary  climbing. 
Sometimes  these  windows,  as  in  the  illustration  on  page  111,  are  so 
small  that  it  is  difficult  for  a  person  to  crawl  through  them. 

In  a  great  many  of  the  factories  the  aisles  between  machines 
and  between  rows  of  operatives  are  so  narrow  and  so  obstructed  by 
boxes,  chairs,  dummy  figures  and  other  things,  that  in  case  of 
excitement  it  is  difficult  for  persons  to  pass  through  them  and 
therefore,  instead  of  being  a  means  of  egress  they  become  an 
obstruction. 

The  number  of  doors  should  correspond  to  the  number  of  exits 
from  the  floors  and  their  width  and  number  should  correspond  to 
the  number  of  persons  on  the  floor.  The  doors  should  always  be 
made  to  open  outward  with  proper  automatic  stops,  so  that  it  is 
not  necessary  to  hold  them.  It  is  needless  to  add  that  doors  should 
never  be  locked. 

All  windows  opening  on  fire-escapes  and  serving  as  means  of 
exit  should  be  glazed  with  wire  glass  and  have  metal  frames  and 
sash.  They  should  be  so  counterbalanced  as  to  open  easily  and  be 
large  enough  to  permit  rapid  exit.  The  sills  should  not  be  more  than 
eighteen  inches  above  the  floor.  Doors  to  fire-escapes  are  much 
better  and  safer  than  windows  and  the  difference  in  cost  is  so  little 
that  the  use  of  windows  is  not  to  be  tolerated,  except  in  changing 
conditions  in  existing  buildings.  The  doors  opening  on  fire-escape 
balconies  should  open  outward  and  be  so  arranged  as  not  to  obstruct 
the  stairs. 

In  the  arrangement  of  machines  and  grouping  of  workers  on 
the  floor,  owners  should  always  bear  in  mind  the  possibility  of  a 
fire  and  provide  for  rapid  escape  through  the  passages  leading  to 
the  exits.  These  passageways  should  always  be  kept  open,  free 
from  obstructions,  and  the  workers  should  be  instructed  how  to 
use  them. 

Egress  from  Building.  The  means  of  escape  from  a  building 
are  (1)  the  roof,  (2)  an  adjoining  building,  and  (3)  the  street.  The 
roof  becomes  a  zone  of  safety  only  when  there  is  easy  access  to  it 
from  the  floor  by  proper  stairways  of  sufficient  width,  etc.,  when 
the  opening  to  the  roof  is  protected  by  a  fire  door,  and  most  impor- 
tant of  all,  when  access  may  be  had  to  the  roofs  of  adjoining 
buildings.  Where  buildings  join  others  of  a  similar  height,  the  roof 
is  a  most  valuable  means  of  escape  because  of  the  possibility  of 
reaching  safety  by  way  of  the  roofs  of  unaffected  houses. 


FACTOKY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION 


113 


The  best  means  of  reaching  a  zone  of  safety  is  by  entering  an 
adjoining  building.  This  may  be  accomplished  either  by  the  above- 
mentioned  escape  to  the  roof  of  an  adjoining  building  by  balconies 
or  bridges  which  join  two  buildings  together,  or  by  doorways  in  the 
fire  walls  between  the  two  buildings.  If  it  were  possible  for  every 


n  b  o  o 


iOO'o 


N.  Y.  State  Factory  Commission. 


A  Bisectional  Building. 


Floor  plan  of  typical  loft  building,  showing  fire  wall  with  doorways.  The  fire  wall 
restricts  the  fire  to  one-half  the  building,  allowing  the  occupants  to  escape  horizontally  from 
the  fire  as  if  they  were  on  the  ground  floor. 

building,  whether  adjacent  to  or  at  some  distance  from  another 
building,  to  be  joined  on  each  floor  by  a  bridge  or  balcony  through 
which  persons  could  pass  from  one  building  to  the  same  floor  of 
the  adjoining  building,  this  would  be  the  ideal  method  of  egress  in 
case  of  need.  This  has  been  done  in  a  number  of  establishments. 
Of  course,  care  must  be  taken  to  construct  these  bridges  and  balconies 


114  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

properly,  of  a  sufficient  carrying  capacity  and  size  to  allow  the 
quick  passage  of  all  within  a  floor  to  the  floor  of  the  adjoining 
building. 

A  more  direct  means  of  egress  is  through  openings  in  the  fire 
wall  between  two  buildings  or  through  a  fire  wall  which  is  specially 
constructed  within  the  building  itself.  The  provision  of  fire  walls 
with  fire  doors  as  a  means  of  preventing  loss  of  property  by  fires 
in  industrial  establishments  is  not  new.  In  Germany,  particularly 
in  Berlin,  this  provision  has  existed  for  nearly  seventy-five  years, 
and,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  chapter  on  legislation,  the  German  laws 
are  very  strict  in  respect  to  this  provision.  Lately,  the  possibility 
of  utilizing  the  fire  wall  as  a  means  of  preventing  loss  of  life  during 
industrial  fires  has  been  brought  forward  and  strenuously  advocated 
in  this  country. 

The  illustration  on  page  113  shows  the  method  of  providing  a 
fire  wall  within  a  building.  The  advantages  of  the  division  of  large 
areas  by  fire  walls  are  summarized  by  Freitag  as  follows: 

First,  to  localize  or  confine  internal  fire,  so  that  it  need  not  spread 
beyond  the  unit  area  in  which  it  originates,  thus  effectively  limiting 
the  fire  damage  and  consequent  financial  loss. 

Second,  to  minimize  the  damage  resulting  from  severe  exposure 
or  conflagration  conditions,  by  breaking  up  large  undivided  floor 
areas  into  efficiently  surrounded  units. 

Third,  to  aid  fire  department  work  in  the  extinguishment  of 
fire. 

Buildings  which  are  provided  with  fire  walls  are  usually  given  a 
lower  rating  by  the  fire  insurance  companies. 

The  following  quotation  from  the  report  of  the  National  Fire 
Protection  Association  upon  the  Baltimore  conflagration  is  of 
interest : 

"  Large  unbroken  floor  areas  assist  the  spread  of  fire  and  serve 
to  augment  its  severity.  Buildings  of  considerable  area  and  having 
large  quantities  of  combustible  contents  should  be  subdivided  by 
substantial  brick  fire  walls  sufficient  to  form  a  positive  barrier  to 
the  spread  of  fire. 

"  The  large  areas  now  so  common,  and  particularly  in  those 
buildings  having  unenclosed  vertical  openings,  undoubtedly  furnish 
conditions  which  render  even  the  most  approved  methods  of  fire- 
resisting  construction  now  in  use  of  doubtful  value. 

"  It  was  noticeable,  even  in  office  buildings,  that  the  damage 
was  generally  greatest,  where  there  were  large  offices  without  any 
subdividing  partitions." 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  115 

The  building  code  of  the  National  Board  of  Fire  Underwriters 
makes  detailed  provisions  as  to  the  size  of  areas  to  be  limited  by 
fire  walls;  while  the  German  law  requires  such  a  wall  for  every  forty 
meters  of  space.  There  is,  however,  some  objection  on  the  part 
of  builders  and  factory  owners  to  the  construction  of  fire  walls  within 
buildings,  on  account  of  the  interference  of  these  walls  with  light 
and  ventilation.  Especially  is  objection  made  to  the  construction 
of  these  walls  in  old  or  already  existing  buildings,  in  which  it  is 
claimed  that  the  cost  of  construction  is  too  great.  Of  course,  the 
problems  of  light  and  ventilation  may  be  overcome;  while  the  matter 
of  expense  should,  of  course,  have  no  serious  consideration  in  view  of 
the  possible  loss  of  life  in  industrial  fires. 

Stairs.  The  necessity  for  a  stairwell  isolated  by  fire-resisting 
walls,  so  that  the  stairwell  and  the  stairway  within  should  be  in  a 
perfect  zone  of  safety  in  case  of  fire,  has  been  referred  to  above. 
Unfortunately,  neither  the  stairwell  nor  the  stairway  is  safe  as 
constructed  at  present.  It  is  rare  to  find  a  well-constructed  fire- 
resisting  separation  between  the  building  and  the  stairwell,  which  is 
often,  instead  of  a  means  of  escape,  a  menace  to  safety,  by  becoming 
full  of  smoke  and  spreading  the  fire  from  floor  to  floor.  We  also 
find  a  large  number  of  factories  with  only  one  stairway.  As  a 
cardinal  principle  of  construction,  every  factory  several  stories 
high  should  be  provided  with  two  inside  stairways,  so  that  in  case 
one  stairway  is  cut  off  by  fire  the  other  may  be  used  as  a  means 
of  egress.  This,  indeed,  is  provided  in  many  of  the  foreign  state 
regulations  and  in  some  of  the  building  codes  in  the  United  States. 

Of  importance  also  are  the  materials  of  construction,  treads, 
risers,  landings,  rails.  Of  the  utmost  importance,  of  course,  is  the 
width  of  the  stairway.  A  large  number  of  stairways  in  'factories 
do  not  allow  the  passage  of  more  than  two  persons,  and  the  stair- 
ways are  apt  to  become  jammed  when  a  number  of  persons  try 
to  use  them,  acting  impulsively  under  excitement,  and  all  endeavoring 
to  pass  the  stairway  at  one  time.  As  Mr.  H.  F  J.  Porter  says: 

"  The  stairway  is  simply  a  tube  with  which  each  floor  is  con- 
nected; and  when  these  floors  try  to  empty  their  contents  simultane- 
ously into  it,  this  tube  will  accommodate  only  a  definite  number 
from  each;  and  should  any  more  try  to  crowd  in,  they  jam  it,  and  the 
flow  downward  is  arrested.  The  reason  for  this  jam  is  that  the 
irregularly-shaped  bodies  of  the  people  interlock  and  the  friction  of 
their  clothing  aids  the  wedging  action,  so  that  there  is  an  actual 
arch  formed  across  the  stairs,  and  the  greater  the  pressure  behind  it,, 
the  tighter  it  holds." 


116  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

Mr.  Porter  continues: 

"  The  average  loft  building  with  a  height  of  story  between  floor 
and  ceiling  of  from  ten  to  twelve  feet,  has  a  stairwell  which,  if  it  is 
the  minimum  width  of  three  feet  allowed  by  the  building  code, 
will  accommodate  one  person  per  foot  of  height  per  floor,  and  if  it 
is  four  feet  wide,  just  double  that  number.  It  will  not  be  safe, 
then,  to  house  more  than  ten  to  twelve  persons  in  one  case  and 
twenty  to  twenty-four  in  the  other,  unless  more  stairwells  are 
installed  or  unless  a  separate  stairwell  is  installed  for  each  floor."* 

The  number  of  persons  using  a  stairway  at  one  time  is  naturally 
limited,  and  if  there  is  a  large  number  of  persons  on  one  floor  all  try- 
ing to  go  out  at  the  same  time,  the  result  will  be  either  the  breaking 
down  of  the  stairway,  the  forcing  open  of  its  rails,  or  the  jamming  of 
the  whole  structure;  thus  creating  a  worse  condition  than  if  there  were 
no  stairway  at  all.  Moreover,  when  a  stairway  in  a  many-storied 
building  is  to  be  used  by  persons  located  on  every  story  of  the  build- 
ing, and  there  is  a  sudden  downward  rush  from  all  the  floors,  the 
situation  is  a  still  greater  menace,  and  the  possibilities  are  horrible 
to  contemplate. 

The  question  of  the  number  of  persons  who  may  be  safely 
allowed  on  a  floor  has  not  yet  been  determined.  Some  persons  claim 
that  a  36-inch  wide  stairway  will  admit  two  persons  abreast,  and  the 
capacity  of  the  stair  will  be  about  24  persons  per  story;  while  a 
4-foot  stairway  will  accommodate  three  persons  abreast  and  the 
maximum  number  of  persons  allowed  should  be  45.  It  is  there- 
fore: 

"  the  surplus  people  above  the  capacity  of  the  stairways,  who  in 
fire  casualties  have  been  the  ones  who  have  either  jumped  to  death 
or  been  burned  up,  and  it  is  this  surplus  over  the  usual  stair  capacity 
which  must  be  provided  for  either  by  (1)  added  stair  capacity,  (2) 
adequate  outside  escape,  or  (3)  bi-sectional  fire  wall."f 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  stairway  as  constructed  at  pre- 
sent, is  an  inadequate  means  of  emptying  the  building,  and  that 
buildings  of  many  stories,  each  containing  a  greater  number  of 
people  than  the  figures  given,  are  practicably  unemptiable.  Even 
with  a  fire  drill  such  buildings  cannot  be  emptied  promptly  in 
case  of  fire. 

The  increase  of  escape  facilities  by  the  fire  wall  has  already  been 

*  Report  to  the  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission,"  vol.  i,  1912,  p.  158. 
t  J.  K.  Freitag,  "  Fire  Prevention  and  Protection,"  p.  510. 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION 


117 


spoken  of.  The  increase  in  capacity  of  stairways  is,  of  course, 
possible  by  increasing  the  number  and  width  of  stairways,  but 
it  is  hardly  possible  with  the  present  means  of  construction  and 


Courtesy  H.  F.  J.  Porter.     Report  of  N.  Y.  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission. 

Stairway  Congestion. 

A  stairway,  12  ft.  high  between  floor  and  ceiling,  3  ft.  wide,  will  accommodate  12  people 
>er  floor.  If  the  width  is  increased  to  44  inches,  the  capacity  is  doubled,  viz.,  24  people 
>er  floor. 

If  there  are  more  people  per  floor  than  these  numbers,  they  will  collide  on  the  landings, 
tnd  congestion  will  occur  so  that  the  downward  movement  practically  ceases.  All  the 
>ccupants  of  each  floor  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  stairways  in  case  of  fire,  jump  down  or  burn 
ip.  The  fire  wall  offers  a  middle  road  to  safety  by  a  horizontal  escape. 

ypes  of  buildings,  to  put  more  than  two  stairways  in  a  building 
)0  feet  wide  by  100  feet  deep,  or  to  make  the  stairways  wider  than 
bur  feet.  Indeed,  the  present  mode  of  construction  usually  limit 


118  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

the  stairways  to  40  inches.  A  somewhat  increased  capacity  may 
be  obtained  by  stairways  of  the  straight  run  type,  so  that  there  are 
no  winders  or  zigzag  turns,  and  the  flow  of  the  persons  downward 
is  not  halted  by  the  turns  of  each  stairway. 

Of  great  importance  also  is  the  outlet  of  the  stairway  to  the  street 
on  the  ground  floor.  Very  often  the  stairways  end  in  a  cul-de-sac, 
from  which  it  is  difficult  to  find  the  proper  outlet  to  the  street  or 
in  a  dark  vaulted  passage,  which  is  sometimes  narrower  than  the 
stairway  and  impedes  the  rapid  egress  of  persons  coming  down. 
All  stairways  should  end  on  the  ground  floor  with  free,  light  and 
unobstructed  passageway  to  the  street. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  necessity  of  enclosing  stairways 
by  fire-resisting  solid  walls  separating  the  stairways  from  the  other 
parts  of  the  building,  and  leaving,  as  the  only  means  of  communica- 
tion between  each  story  and  the  stairway,  a  self-closing  fire  door 
of  proper  construction,  so  as  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  fire  from 
one  floor  to  another,  or  from  the  stairway  into  the  floor.  The 
newer  types  of  stairways  are  constructed  in  so-called  "fire-proof 
towers,"  where  solid  fire-resisting  walls  wholly  enclose  the  stair- 
way and  open  by  single  or  double  self-closing  fire  doors  to  each  floor. 
Some  of  these  towers  are  made  smoke-proof  by  being  separated 
from  each  story  not  only  by  doors  but  by  an  open  or  covered  balcony, 
which  still  further  enhances  their  safety.  Fire  or  smoke-proof 
towers  do  not  give  the  enclosed  stairways  any  greater  capacity; 
they  only  protect  from  smoke  and  flames  the  people  who  can 
enter  them. 

Fire-Escapes.  The  inadequacy  of  stairways  as  a  means  of 
egress  from  buildings  has  led  to  attempts  to  provide  emergency 
exits  outside  of  the  building.  It  is  probable  that  the  first  emergency 
fire-escape  outside  of  a  building  was  simply  a  plain  rope,  which 
was  perhaps  afterwards  improved  by  being  formed  into  a  rope 
ladder.  Indeed,  there  are  still  on  the  market  some  types  of  rope 
ladder  fire-escapes,  which  are  occasionally  recommended  by  their 
vendors,  either  as  a  sole  means  of  fire-escape  or  as  an  auxiliary 
emergency  exit.  In  time,  a  straight  iron  ladder  consisting  of  two 
stringers  with  bar  rungs  was  substituted  for  this  rope  ladder.  This 
again  has  given  place  to  the  more  commonly  found  type  of  fire- 
escape,  which  consists  of  two  parts:  (1)  the  platform  enclosed  by 
rails  and  called  a  balcony,  which  is  placed  securely  outside  the 
window  or  door  openings  of  each  floor  and  serves  as  a  means  for 
temporary  shelter  and  safety  zone  for  a  limited  number  of  persons 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION 


119 


120  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

in  case  of  emergency;  and  (2)  straight  iron  ladders  which  serve  as 
a  connecting  link  between  balconies  until  they  reach  the  floor  above 
the  ground.  This  type  of  straight  ladder  fire-escape  is  still  found 
in  a  great  many  factory  buildings  of  older  construction. 

An  improvement  upon  this  form  of  fire-escape  was  made  by  sub- 
stituting for  the  straight  iron  ladder  which  could  be  used  only  by 
a  person  going  down  backward,  an  inclined  stairway  with  proper 
steps,  instead  of  rungs,  and  with  side  rails,  so  that  the  descent 
from  each  balcony  became  somewhat  less  of  an  acrobatic  perform- 
ance. This  type  of  fire-escape  is  the  one  at  present  found  011 
practically  all  the  newer  buildings,  and  it  has  two  additional 
fixtures;  the  goose-neck  ladder  which  leads  from  the  top  floor 
balcony  to  the  roof,  and  the  drop  ladder  which  leads  from  the  lowest 
balcony  to  the  ground. 

There  are  several  types  of  this  drop  ladder;  the  oldest  variety 
is  a  plain  iron  ladder  hung  on  some  part  of  the  balcony  next  to  the 
lowest  balcony,  and  supposed  to  be  removed  and  placed  in  position 
by  the  persons  descending.  Such  drop  ladders  weigh  from  150 
to  200  pounds  and  are  most  difficult  to  lift  even  for  a  robust  person, 
and  are  beyond  the  strength  of  women  or  girls.  Very  often  these 
drop  ladders  are  placed  out  of  reach ;  and  they  have  often  been  found 
too  short,  so  that  when  placed  in  position  they  are  from  four  to 
ten  feet  above  the  ground  and  necessitate  a  perilous  jump  for  those 
who  are  lucky  enough  to  reach  them. 

Some  of  these  drop  ladders  lead  into  dangerous  places.  Many 
fire-escapes  are  located  in  the  rear  or  side  of  buildings  and  end  in 
closed  courts,  yards,  or  locked  areas,  which  become  veritable 
roasting  pens  in  case  of  fire,  because  the  persons  coming  down  have 
no  means  of  escape  to  the  outside. 

An  improved  form  of  drop  ladder  is  hung  between  guides,  rests 
upon  a  hook  and  is  so  balanced  that  it  is  easily  released  and  falls 
into  position;  or  consists  of  a  counter-balanced  stairway  which  is  so 
constructed  that  it  remains  in  a  horizontal  position  until  a  person 
steps  upon  it,  when  the  stairway  slowly  lowers  and  rests  upon  the 
ground. 

An  outside  fire-escape  even  of  the  best  type  mentioned  is  a 
misnomer.  It  gives  a  false  sense  of  security  without  actually  assisting 
in  an  emergency.  The  objections  to  this  type  of  fire-escape  are 
tersely  summarized  in  the  brief  submitted  by  Rudolph  P.  Miller, 
Superintendent  of  Buildings  of  New  York  City,  to  the  New  York 
State  Factory  Commission. 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  121 

"All  outside  fire-escapes  are  open  to  the  following  objections: 
Inmates  are  not  accustomed  to  their  use  and  do  not  generally  seek 


pyrlghted  by  Carl  M.  Hansen, 
Reproduced  by  Permission. 


Standard  Double  Run  Fire-escape. 


them  except  as  a  last  resort.  They  do  not  allow  of  a  quick  and 
ready  means  of  escape,  as  persons  are  unaccustomed  to  them  and 
will  move  along  slowly,  thus  delaying  those  who  are  following. 


122  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

In  wintry  weather  they  are  liable  to  be  obstructed  by  snow  and 
ice,  and  become  unsafe.  Very  often  they  are  rendered  useless 
because  of  smoke  and  flames  issuing  from  the  windows  at  which 
they  are  placed.  The  means  of  getting  from  the  lowest  balcony 
is  generally  the  least  satisfactory  of  the  entire  equipment,  and 
greatly  delays  quick  egress.  Fire-escapes  are  liable  to  be  blocked 
by  being  used  as  storage  platforms,  and  no  amount  of  inspection 
can  entirely  prevent  this  in  crowded  districts.  Numerous  instances 
may  be  found  in  the  public  press  in  which  inmates  seeking  fire- 
escapes  have  failed  to  know  what  to  do  and  have  waited  for 
the  fire  department  to  come  and  take  them  down.  On  account  of 
the  contracted  dimensions  of  these  fire-escapes  large  persons  have 
sometimes  found  difficulty  in  making  proper  use  of  them.  The 
fire  department  has  generally  advocated  their  use,  but  it  will  be 
found  that  this  advocacy  is  based  on  a  desire  to  have  a  means  of 
getting  into  the  building;  but  if  desirable  for  this  purpose,  then 
they  should  be  provided  as  such  and  not  offered  to  the  inmates  as 
a  satisfactory  means  of  egress."  * 

Whenever  fire-escapes  are  constructed  for  emergency  exits,  the 
same  precautions  as  to  freedom  from  obstructions  should  be  observed 
as  in  the  case  of  windows,  doors  and  passageways.  The  tendency 
at  present  is  to  condemn  the  ordinary  outside  open  fire-escape 
even  of  the  better  type,  and  to  construct  regular  stair  fire-escapes  and 
so-called  tower  fire-escapes,  sometimes  called  "  Philadelphia  Tower 
Fire-Escapes."  Such  a  fire-escape  is  really  a  stairway  which  is 
enclosed  by  brick  or  other  fire-resisting  walls  and  entirely  isolated 
from  the  building  and  from  the  floors  of  the  buildings,  except  that 
the  exterior  balcony  of  each  floor  forms  a  means  of  communication 
and  is  open  to  the  air  between  the  tower  and  the  interior  of  the 
building.  Such  towers  are  not  only  fire-resisting  but  also  smoke- 
proof  and  form  the  best  emergency  exit  possible.  Of  course,  the 
proper  construction  of  such  fire-escapes  is  important,  and  the 
balconies  or  enclosed  vestibules  must  be  solidly  constructed,  and 
of  sufficient  capacity  for  a  number  of  persons  to  use  them  from 
each  floor.  The  accompanying  illustrations  show  the  form  of  these 
fire-escapes. 

A  new  fire-escape  which  is  recommended  by  some  is  the  so-called 
"  Kirker  Bender  Slide  Fire-Escape  "  which  is  constructed  on  the 
principle  of  shooting-the-chutes.  It  consists  of  a  central  standpipe 
or  tube  with  an  enclosed  helical  slide  built  around  it  with  entrance 
doors  provided  on  every  floor  and  at  the  roof.  Balconies  connect 
windows  or  doors  from  each  floor  with  this  tube  fire-escape.  The 

*  Report  of  New  York  State  Factory  Commission,  1913,  vol.  i.,  p.  73. 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION 


123 


TOWER  PLAN 

WITH 
OUTSIDE  BALCONY   Ed  TRANCE 

NO  DIRECT  COMMUNICATION  WITH  BUILDING 


INTERIOR 

OF  &UIUPIM6 


Obo*/ 

BALCONY   SOL.IO  FLOOR^ 
OUTSIDE  BLP'^   LINC.    " 


NOTE  -WALLS  OP  BRICK  OR 

OTHER  APP  ROVED  MATER  I  A4_ 
BuiLTSOMDL.f   FROM  FOUNOATlOU 
TO  AT  UCAST  3^  li^CHtS  ABOVE   RO  OF 

STA>I  K  TRENDS  ETC. 


BALCONY)  FLOOR  SUPPORTS 

I     I 
I     I 


N.  Y.  State  Factory  Commission. 


124 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


persons  escaping  jump  into  the  opening  and  then  slide  downward 
around  the  tube  until  they  come  out  at  its  end.  It  is  claimed  for  this 
means  of  fire-escape  that  a  large  number  of  persons  can  come  down 


Copyrighted  by  Carl  M.  Hansen.     Reproduced  by  Permission. 

Standard  Single  Straight  Run  Fire-escape. 

very  quickly.  It  is  made  wide  enough  to  permit  two  persons  to 
come  down  side  by  side;  and  its  capacity  is  estimated  from  125  to 
150  persons  per  minute  when  they  enter  at  the  top  only.  People 
cannot  enter  the  lower  doors  when  a  stream  is  going  down.  Being 
made  of  steel,  it  is  apt  to  rust  and  its  use  as  a  slide  becomes  affected 
in  a  short  time. 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION  125 

Panics.  One  of  the  great  dangers  in  factory  fires  to  which  a 
large  loss  of  life  may  be  attributed,  is  the  panic  which  is  apt  to 
spread  among  a  mass  of  workers,  especially  women  and  girls, 
when  the  dreaded  cry  of  fire  is  sounded  in  a  factory  or  work- 
shop. More  lives  may  be  lost  through  a  senseless  panic  by  the 


Copyrighted  by  Carl  M.  Hansen.     Reproduced  by  Permission. 

Philadelphia  Tower  Fire-escape. 

people  treading  each  other  down  and  jamming  in  tight  places  than 
by  the  fire  itself. 

The  prevention  of  panics  is,  of  course,  largely  a  matter  of  educa- 
tion. When  workers  are  properly  imbued  with  the  idea  of  the 
possibilities  of  escape  from  a  floor  or  from  a  building,  when  they 
know  the  dangers  as  well  as  the  means  of  escape,  when  each  worker 
knows  the  exits  from  the  floor  and  from  the  building,  when  he  is 
instructed,  educated  and  trained  to  leave  his  place  of  work  in  a 
quiet,  orderly  manner  at  all  times,  and  especially  during  unexpected 


126  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

alarms,  when  certain  persons  are  appointed  each  of  whom  has  charge 
of  a  number  of  employes  and  leads  and  directs  them  to  certain 
exits,  and  when  the  whole  working  force  is  properly  organized, 
trained  and  drilled,  then  if  the  exit  facilities  are  adequate  there 
will  be  no  loss  of  life.  Employers  and  those  persons  to  whose 
care  the  safety  and  the  lives  of  a  large  number  of  persons  are 
entrusted,  should  be  bound  to  take  all  these  necessary  precautions, 
to  institute  educational  methods  among  the  workers,  to  teach  each 
one  his  proper  place  and  his  proper  mode  of  exit  in  case  of  emergency, 
and  to  install  and  maintain  fire  drills  in  each  workshop,  so  as  to  be 
prepared  in  times  of  safety  for  emergencies. 

Perhaps  the  severest  arraignment  made  against  our  present 
system  of  ignoring  methods  of  fire  prevention  was  made  by  an 
editor  of  the  New  York  World,  Don  C.  Seitz,  in  an  address  to 
the  Safety  and  Sanitation  Conference  in  New  York  City.  He 
said: 

"  The  study  of  human  values  can  only  be  made  in  the  light 
of  mankind's  regard  for  itself.  This  has  been,  in  all  times,  all 
ages  and  all  countries,  the  lightest  of  human  considerations.  My 
observations  lead  me  to  believe  that  mankind  has  not  improved 
the  treatment  of  itself.  The  human  sacrifice  is  required  just  as 
much  to-day  as  it  ever  was  in  the  Temple  of  Baal  or  on  the  altars 
of  the  Aztecs. 

"  The  world  has  ample  knowledge  of  its  perils,  natural  and  created, 
but  it  remedies  only  on  the  heels  of  disaster  and  safeguards  only  after 
sacrifice.  Notorious  conditions  of  danger  are  tolerated  until  blood 
is  shed.  We  then  remedy  in  spots  and  await  the  next  calamity.  It 
required  the  death  of  eleven  of  my  fellow  travelers  in  the  Fourth 
Avenue  Tunnel  to  create  the  Grand  Central  improvements.  We 
have  not  yet  had  holocausts  enough  like  the  Asch  Building  disaster 
to  produce  real  fire  protection." 

It  is  true  that  not  all  floors  of  factory  buildings  nor  all  factory 
buildings  may  easily  be  emptied  with  or  without  fire  drills.  It  is 
true  that  a  great  many  buildings  cannot  be  emptied  within  a  short 
time,  and  it  is  also  true  that  it  is  perhaps  futile  to  endeavor  to  empty 
one  floor  when  the  workers  upon  other  floors  are  not  drilled  and  do 
not  know  how  to  act  at  the  same  time  in  order  to  empty  the  whole 
building  at  once.  It  therefore  follows  that  a  fire  drill  in  order  to 
be  a  real  protection  to  the  workers  can  only  be  properly  installed 
and  maintained  in  an  emptiable  factory  building, — in  one  where 
there  are  no  obstructions  to  the  exits  and  where  the  exits  are  of  a 
sufficient  number  and  capacity  to  empty  the  building  in  as  short 


FACTORY  FIRES  AND  THEIR  PREVENTION 


127 


a  time  as  possible.  Nevertheless,  taking  all  these  facts  into  con- 
sideration, there  should  be  no  factory  building,  and  no  individual 
workshop,  no  matter  how  small  or  what  part  of  a  building  it  occupies, 


EXIT 

TO  FIRE  ESCAPE 


Courtesy  Nemo  Corset  Co. 

Emergency  Exit  in  Fire-wall  Leading  to  Fire-escape. 

in  which  some  sort  of  fire  drill  is  not  installed  and  maintained. 
The  introduction  and  maintenance  of  fire  drills  in  factory  buildings 
should  at  once  be  the  subject  not  only  of  legislation,  but  of  strict 


128  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

and  rigid  enforcement.  A  number  of  state  legislatures  have  already 
passed  fire  drill  laws,  and  a  large  number  of  factory  owners  have 
already  endeavored  to  comply  with  these  laws  to  the  best  of  their 
ability. 

Ex-Chief  Croker,  in  his  book  on  fire  prevention,  says: 

"  I  am  willing  to  assert  that  ninety-nine  of  every  one  hundred 
lives  that  have  been  lost  through  fire  in  the  last  ten  years,  could 
have  been  saved  if  proper  methods  of  drill  and  of  training  and 
proper  precautions  in  matters  of  building  and  means  of  escape  had 
been  the  rule  instead  of  the  rare  exception." 

The  principles  of  the  fire  drill  are  simple.  They  are:  (1)  that 
each  employe  should  be  instructed  in  the  number  of  exits  which 
lead  from  the  floor  to  the  stairways  or  fire-escapes:  (2)  that  a 
group  of  employes  should  be  organized  under  a  chief,  whose  duty  it 
is  to  see  that  they  act  according  to  instructions  and  go  to  the  exits 
which  are  assigned  to  each  group;  (3)  that  the  workers  of  each  floor 
should  be  divided  according  to  the  number  of  exits  from  the  floor, 
and  each  group  assigned  to  a  regular  exit,  and  to  an  alternate 
exit  which  it  is  to  use  in  case  the  regular  exit  is  cut  off;  (4)  that  a 
brigade  should  be  organized  by  the -employer  or  those  in  charge 
of  the  fire  drills,  to  (a)  extinguish  small  fires  by  means  of  the  fire 
pails  or  extinguishers,  (b)  to  notify  by  telephone  or  personally  reach 
the  nearest  fire  station,  (c)  to  man  and  work  a  hose  from  standpipe 
when  available,  (d)  to  provide  sufficient  guards  stationed  at  each 
exit  to  prevent  crowding  and  jamming  of  the  outgoing  stream  of 
workers,  and  (e)  to  stop  the  machinery  as  soon  as  the  alarm  is 
sounded. 

The  suggestions  prepared  by  the  National  Fire  Protection  Asso- 
ciation for  the  organization  and  execution  of  fire  drills  in  factories, 
etc.,  giving  the  details  of  this  work,  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  IV 
FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 

I 
EXTENT   AND   DANGERS 

EVERY  year  thousands  of  workers  are  killed,  tens  of  thousands 
are  maimed  and  disabled,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  are  injured 
more  or  less  severely.  In  every  country  innumerable  lives  are 
sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  the  modern  system  of  production.  Every 
industry  and  every  industrial  establishment  exacts  its  toll  of  human 
life.  So  great  are  the  risks  of  the  trades  that  in  comparison  with 
the  fatalities  yearly  occurring  among  the  wage-earners,  the  number 
of  victims  in  all  the  ruthless  wars  of  the  past  fades  into  insignificance. 

It  is  impossible  to  state  exactly  or  even  to  estimate  the  numbers 
who  are  injured  in  the  course  of  their  work.  It  is  only  in  the  last 
decade  that  some  attempt  has  been  made  in  the  United  States  to 
count  the  injured  and  to  report  the  accidents  occurring  in  industry. 
Hoffman  estimates  the  number  of  industrial  accidents  in  the  United 
States  for  one  year  at  200,000  in  manufacturing  industries  alone, 
and  the  fatalities  among  occupied  males  in  1908  at  between  thirty 
and  thirty-five  thousand.* 

The  number  of  industrial  accidents  in  factories  for  1912  for 
six  of  the  large  industrial  states,  with  a  total  population  of  3,087,593, 
was,  according  to  the  latest  factory  inspectors'  reports,  66,946,  of 
which  810  were  fatal.  In  New  York  State  alone,  with  a  working 
population  of  little  over  one  million,  there  were  in  1912  no  less  than 
51,084  accidents. 

Nor  are  the  reports  from  European  countries  more  cheerful. 
In  1911  there  were  in  Great  Britain  156,232  accidents  in  the  factories 
and  workshops,  of  which  1260  were  fatal.  Belgium,  with  a  factory 
population  of  665,190,  reports  for  the  same  year  87,261  accidents; 

*  Frederick  Hoffman,  Industrial  Accidents,  Bulletin  of  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  78,  p.  418. 

129 


130  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

France  reports  for  its  507,557  factories  474,396  accidents  in  1911.* 
Germany  had  over  600,000  industrial  accidents  in  the  same  year. 

Industrial  accident  data  are  at  present  gained  from  the  reports 
of  factory  inspectors  and  from  the  reports  of  the  insurance  and 
workmen's  compensation  commission^.  Such  data  have  been 
gathered  for  a  number  of  years  in  some  of  the  European  countries, 
notably  in  Germany.  In  the  United  States  there  are  only  twenty- 
one  states  where  accident  statistics  are  gathered,  and  these  statistics 
are  neither  uniform  nor  complete. 


Narrow  Aisles  between  Machines  with  Unguarded  Belts  and  Pulleys. 

Not  only  is  the  occurrence  of  industrial  accidents  universal,  but 
there  seems  to  be  evidence  that  industrial  accidents  are  on  the 
increase  and  that  the  number  of  victims  is  growing  in  many  indus- 
tries from  year  to  year. 

In  New  York  State  the  number  of  industrial  accidents  has 
increased  from  19,431  in  1907  to  51,804  in  1912.f  The  increase 
in  the  number  of  industrial  accidents  in  British  industries  led  in 
1910  to  the  creation  of  a  special  commission,  the  appointment  of 
which  was  the  result  of  the  following  resolution:  "  That  this  House 

*  Including  commercial  houses,  state  depts.  and  banks,  also  domestic  service, 
t  New  York  State  Commission  on  Employer's  Liability,  2d  Report,  p.  8,  and    Annual    Re- 
port, Commissioner  of  Labor,  New  York  State,  1912,  p.  67. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  131 

is  of  the  opinion  that  the  increase  in  fatal  and  non-fatal  accidents 
in  places  under  the  Factory  and  Workshops  Acts  is  of  such  char- 
acter as  to  demand  immediate  attention."*  The  report  of  this 
commission  showed  that  the  number  of  accidents  in  Great  Britain 
had  risen  from  100,695  in  1905  to  124,325  in  1907,  and  since  that 
time  to  156,332  in  1912.  The  committee  reported  that  it  was 
impossible  to  get  absolute  proof  of  the  increase  of  risk  in  industry; 
that  some  of  the  seeming  increase  of  accidents  was  due  to  better 
reporting;  that  minor  accidents  increased  at  a  greater  rate  than 
serious  accidents;  that  the  increase  of  accidents  was  largely  due  to 
the  expansion  of  industry;  that  much  of  the  increase  of  accidents 
was  undoubtedly  due  to  certain  special  causes  such  as  increased 
speed  and  pressure  at  work,  fatigue,  increased  use  of  machinery,  etc, 

German  statistics  show  that  from  1901  to  1911  there  was  a 
decrease  in  accidents  causing  death,  and  partial  or  total  permanent 
disability;  but  that  there  was  a  marked  increase  in  accidents 
causing  temporary  disablement,  lasting  more  than  thirteen  weeks. 
The  increase  of  accidents  is  particularly  due  to  the  following  causes : 
stricter  control  in  regard  to  reporting  accidents;  employment  of 
untrained  and  inexperienced  workmen;  more  frequent  prosecutions 
of  claims  by  injured  persons  because  of  their  better  knowledge 
of  the  law;  better  knowledge  of  what  is  an  industrial  accident; 
increase  of  the  cases  in  which  the  officials  of  the  insurance  system 
admitted  a  causal  connection  between  existing  malady  or  weakness, 
and  its  aggravation  by  an  accident;  frequent  granting  of  a  transitory 
or  accustoming  pension,  in  cases  where  strictly  speaking  there  was 
no  longer  a  loss  of  earning  power;  and,  finally,  the  frequency  of 
changes  in  the  personnel  of  the  laboring  forces  of  the  plants.  It 
was  also  conceded  that  accidents  increased  because  of  the  more 
intense  methods  of  the  industry  and  by  the  extension  of  the  use  of 
machinery.f 

Austrian  accident  statistics  also  show  that  those  accidents 
which  cause  disablement  from  which  the  workman  recovers  seem 
to  have  increased,  while  serious  accidents  causing  permanent  dis- 
ablement show  a  tendency  to  decrease  4 

Gruesome  as  is  the  evidence  presented  by  international  indus- 
trial accident  statistics,  it  does  not  fully  illustrate  the  extent  of  the 
risks  and  dangers  of  modern  industry,  nor  does  it  permit  one  to 

*  Report,  Departmental  Committee  on  Accidents,  1911,  p.  1. 

t  Henry  J.  Harris,  Increase  in  Industrial  Accidents,  Quarterly  Statistics  for    March,  1912, 
pp.  12  and  13. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  17. 


132 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


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FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  133 

easily  comprehend  the  terrible  sacrifice  of  human  life  under  the 
modern  factory  system.  It  is  only  when  we  translate  the  figures 
into  the  more  comprehensible  economic  terms  that  we  are  appalled 
by  the  great  loss  of  life  caused  by  industry. 

"  A  conservative  estimate  of  the  economic  loss  in  this  country 
through  industrial  accidents  places  it  above  a  quarter  of  a  billion 
dollars  each  year.  This  is  more  than  two  million  workmen  could 
earn  in  a  twelvemonth  at  four  dollars  a  day  apiece.  With  the 
universal  adoption  of  a  well-developed  policy  it  is  easy  to  believe 
that  fifty  per  cent  of  them  might  be  avoided.  This  would  be  a 
saving  in  the  United  States  each  year  of  about  20,000  lives,  the 
prevention  each  year  of  a  full  million  of  bodily  injuries  of  varying 
degree,  and  a  money  saving  of  $125,000,000  annually."* 

^According  to  Hoffman,  "  the  thirty  to  thirty-five  thousand 
fatal  accidents  and  not  less  than  two  million  non-fatal  accidents 
not  only  involve  a  vast  amount  of  human  suffering  and  sorrow, 
but  materially  curtail  the  longevity  among  those  exposed  to  the 
needless  risk  of  industrial  casual  ties."  f 

The  social  loss  involved  in  526  fatal  work  accidents  occurring 
in  1908  in  Allegheny  County,  Pennsylvania,  computed  by  averaging 
the  net  economic  gain  from  the  life  of  a  male  wage  earner  from  his 
fifteenth  to  his  sixty-fifth  year  (method  of  Hoffman)  was  found  to 
result  in  a  minimum  economic  loss  to  the  community  of  $3,828,090. 
The  loss  through  total,  partial  or  temporary  disability  computed 
in  a  similar  way  amounted  to  $1,320,636;  while  the  hospital 
charges  were  estimated  at  $80,000.  Thus,  the  loss  to  society  from 
one  year's  work  accidents  in  Allegheny  County  amounted  to 
$5,228,7364 

A  similar  estimate  of  financial  loss  was  made  in  New  York 
State  in  the  course  of  an  investigation  conducted  by  the  Employer's 
Liability  Commission  in  1909.  The  loss  in  wages  within  one  year 
through  temporary  disability  in  1297  work  accidents  in  New  York 
State  amounted  to  more  than  $93,000. § 

On  the  same  subject  Mr.  Carl  M.  Hansen,  Secretary  of  the 
Department  of  Accident  Prevention  of  the  Workmen's  Compensa- 
tion Service  Bureau,  said  in  his  address  to  the  National  Association 
of  Cotton  Manufacturers  in  Atlantic  City: 

*  J.  Kirby,  Jr.,  President  National  Association  of  Manufacturers:  Address  before  the  First 
Cooperative  Safety  Congress,  1912. 

t  United  States  Bulletin  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  78. 
j  Eastman:  Work  Accidents  and  the  Law,  p.  317. 
§  Report  of  the  New  York  State  Commission  on  Employer's  Liability,  First  Report,  p.  215. 


134  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

"  How  largely  the  matter  of  industrial  accidents  enters  into  the 
cause  of  our  social  ills,  I  am  not  prepared  to  state  definitely,  but 
with  a  record  of  from  40,000  to  45,000  killed  wage-earners  annually 
and  with  an  additional  200,000  working  days  lost  on  account  of  non- 
fatal  accidents  among  the  rest  of  our  working  population,  I  make 
bold  to  opine  that  it  constitutes  one  of  the  largest  causes  of  poverty 
and  consequent  dependency.  Translated  into  actual  dollars  and 
cents,  taking  the  minimum  of  40,000  killed  at  a  value  as  producing 
members  of  society  of  $5000  each,  and  $2  as  an  average  wage  of 
the  non-fatally  injured,  we  have  the  economic  loss  sustained  to  the 
nation  as  a  whole  on  account  of  industrial  accidents  represented 
by  the  very  munificent  sum  of  $600,000,000  annually.  This  does 
not  include  all  the  indirect  losses  accruing  in  the  form  of  restricted 
opportunities  suffered  by  the  dependents  left  by  those  killed  and 
crippled  wage-earners.  What  that  amounts  to,  no  man  can  cal- 
culate or  estimate.  I  believe,  though,  we  may  safely  put  down  our 
industrial  accidents  as  one  of  the  great  causes  of  our  social  ills  and 
as  one  of  our  greatest  national  wastes."* 

We  are  therefore  presented  with  the  grave  problem  of  the  large 
number  of  fatal  casualties  in  the  modern  factory,  the  great  number 
of  other  accidents  resulting  in  serious  injury  to  the  worker,  often 
in  total  and  permanent  disability,  and  the  ensuing  misery  and 
economic  loss  to  the  workers  and  to  the  community. 

Is  there  a  solution  to  this  problem?  Are  all  the  accidents 
incident  to  industrial  life  inevitable  and  unavoidable,  or  may  all 
of  them,  or  a  part  of  them,  or  any  of  them,  be  avoided  and  prevented? 

This  great  problem  and  the  methods  of  its  solution  have  engaged 
the  earnest  attention  of  all  those  who  are  interested  in  industrial 
progress.  The  problem  has  been  studied  in  all  its  aspects  and 
serious  efforts  have  been  made  in  other  countries  to  prevent  the  waste 
of  human  resources  in  modern  industry  and  to  make  factories  safer. 

For  nearly  half  a  century  these  efforts  have  been  made  by 
European  governments  and  corporate  interests.  The  first  attempts 
at  accident  prevention  were  made  as  far  back  as  in  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the  number  of  accidents,  especially 
those  due  to  explosion  of  steam  boilers,  had  attracted  public  atten- 
tion. As  a  result,  a  boiler  inspection  service  was  instituted  either 
by  the  governments  or  by  private  associations,  to  reduce  the  great 
number  of  fatalities.  In  1867  one  of  the  first  associations,  that  of 
Mulhausen,  was  organized  in  Alsace,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Asso- 
ciation pour  Prevenir  les  Accidents  des  Fabriques."  Since  that 
time  numerous  associations  have  been  formed  for  the  same  purpose; 

*  Safety  Engineering,  October,  1913,  p.  250. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


135 


such  as  the  "  Association  des  Industrials  de  France  contre  les 
Accidents  du  Travail/'  "  Association  Parisienne  des  Proprietaires 
d'Appareils  a  Vapeur,"  and  many  other  similar  associations  in  most 
of  the  European  countries. 


The  greatest  impetus  to  accident  prevention  and  organization 
was  given  by  the  Accident  Insurance  Law  of  Germany,  which  was 
introduced  in  1884,  and  gradually  expanded  until  it  embraced  practi- 
cally every  industrial  center  and  every  worker  in  the  country. 
During  1885  and  1886  no  less  than  sixty-two  trade  associations 


136  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

of  owners  and  manufacturers  were  organized  in  Germany.  These 
associations  did  excellent  work  in  the  study  and  prevention  of 
industrial  accidents.  Not  only  did  they  make  thorough  and  com- 
prehensive studies  of  accident  risks  and  causes,  but  they  also 
adopted  in  practically  every  industry  a  rigid  set  of  rules  and 
regulations,  which  they  enforced  themselves  by  means  of  the 
insurance  rates  imposed  upon  each  member  of  the  association 
and  by  their  inspectors,  who  assist  the  state  industrial  inspectors. 

The  governments  of  the  European  countries  have  stood  in 
the  vanguard  of  accident  prevention  and  have  not  only  urged 
employers  and  corporations  to  go  on  with  their  accident  prevention 
work,  but  have  made  the  safeguarding  of  industry  a  function  of 
a  large  factory  inspection  force.  Special  rules  have  been  issued 
for  each  industry  and  group  of  industries,  and  valiant  work  has  been 
done  by  the  departments  in  charge  of  this  branch  of  state  work. 
In  many  European  cities  and  industrial  centers,  collections  of  safety 
devices  and  museums  of  safety  have  been  established,  so  that  those 
who  are  interested  may  see  and  adopt  the  most  modern  protective 
devices. 

It  is  only  within  the  last  five  years  that  serious  attempts  at  lessen- 
ing the  dangers  of  industrial  accidents  have  been  made  in  this  country. 
From  1909  to  1913  no  less  than  twenty-five  legislative  commissions 
were  appointed  in  as  many  different  states  to  investigate  accident 
prevention  and  compensation  for  industrial  accidents;  while  in 
three  other  states,  commissions  have  been  voluntarily  appointed 
by  their  governors. 

The  increase  of  interest  in  the  subject  is  illustrated  by  the 
number  of  articles  in  current  magazines  on  the  subject  of  accidents 
in  industry  and  employers'  liability.  In  1909  there  appeared  in 
the  current  magazines  only  five  articles;  in  1912  there  were  not  less 
than  fifty-two  popular  articles  on  these  subjects. 

At  present  twenty-two  states  have  adopted  more  or  less  com- 
prehensive workmen's  compensation  laws.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
while  we  in  these  United  States  have  been  tardy  in  grappling  with 
this  great  modern  industrial  problem,  once  we  have  taken  the  first 
step  in  its  solution,  we  shall  speedily  overtake  the  most  advanced 
nations. 

Large  corporate  interests,  and  large  employers  of  labor  have 
lately  taken  a  great  interest  in  the  subject.  As  examples  may  be 
cited  the  great  work  accomplished  within  the  last  few  years  by  the 
United  States  Steel  Corporation,  the  International  Harvester 


FACTOEY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


137 


Company,  and  others  too  numerous  to  mention,  who  have  joined 
in  the  work  of  accident  prevention.  The  American  Association 
for  Labor  Legislation  has  done  splendid  work  in  preliminary 
agitation  and  the  lately  organized  National  Council  for  Industrial 
Safety  and  a  number  of  safety  congresses  bear  witness  to  the  great 
interest  taken  in  the  subject. 

What  has  been  the  result  of  all  the  agitation  for  accident  pre- 
vention, of  all  the  social  cooperation  and  state  endeavors  to  bring 
about  a  lessening  of  the  hazards  of  industry?  How  much  nearer  are 
we  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  stated  before?  One  thing  is  clear 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 


Unguarded  Opening  to  Elevator  Hoistway. 


and  certain.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that  a  very  large  number 
of  industrial  accidents  may  and  can  be  prevented  and  thus  are  un- 
necessary and  inexcusable. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  has  decreased  the  num- 
ber of  serious  accidents  among  its  33,242  shop  employes  by  over 
63  per  cent  through  the  installation  of  safety  devices  and  instruc- 
tion of  workmen  in  exercising  due  caution.  The  United  States 
Steel  Corporation  states  that  it  has  reduced  serious  and  fatal 
accidents  in  its  various  plants  since  1906  by  42.3  per  cent,*  and 
similar  claims  are  being  made  weekly  and  daily  by  a  large  number 

*  J-  Xirby,  Jr.,  Address  First  Cooperative  Safety  Congress  in  Milwaukee,  1911. 


138  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

of  corporations  which  have  within  the  last  five  years  taken  up  the 
slogan  of  "  safety  first "  and  have  done  great  work  in  accident 
prevention. 

The  solution  of  the  problem,  therefore,  must  come  from  industry 
itself.  Industry  as  such,  is  primarily  responsible  for  many  of  the 
risks  and  dangers  incident  to  it;  and  it  is  incumbent  upon  those 
who  are  at  the  head  of  each  industry  to  render  it  as  safe  as  possible, 
to  install  and  introduce  all  possible  safety  appliances  and  to  main- 
tain a  campaign  of  education  so  as  to  reduce  the  number  of  indus- 
trial accidents  to  a  minimum,  and  thus  by  prevention,  inspection 
and  education  make  industry  less  hazardous.  Finally,  since  the 
progress  of  science  has  not  advanced  so  far  as  to  remove  all  the 
-dangers  of  trades  and  to  prevent  all  the  risks  of  occupations,  the 
industry  and  the  employer  should  be  made  to  bear  the  cost  of  the 
loss  of  life  and  the  economic  loss  to  the  worker  from  injuries  due 
to  industrial  accidents,  by  proper  compensation  and  insurance 
for  all  accidents  and  injuries. 


II 

THE    PERSONAL    FACTOR    IN    ACCIDENT    CAUSATION    AND 

PREVENTION 

The  definition  of  an  industrial  accident  has  aroused  a  great  deal 
of  legal  controversy,  and  the  word  has  been  variously  defined  by 
judges  and  courts  at  different  times  and  places.  In  Great  Britain 
an  accident  means  "  any  unlooked  for  mishap  or  occurrence  and 
includes  not  merely  something  external  to  the  workman,  as  the 
bursting  of  a  boiler  or  a  mine  explosion,  but  something  internal 
as  well,  as  rupture,  straining  of  a  muscle,  etc.  When  an  injury  is 
caused  gradually  this  is  not  an  accident.  Disease  contracted  while 
at  work  is  not  an  injury  by  accident.  Certain  industrial  diseases, 
however,  are  deemed  to  be  accidents.  Nervous  shock  through 
seeing  an  accident  may  be  an  accident."*  Another  definition  of 
accident  is  the  following:  "  An  accident  is  anything  which  happens 
to  an  employe  in  the  course  of  his  or  her  work  and  causes  immediate 
or  remote  physical  pain  of  disease,  whether  incident  to  such  employ- 
ment or  not,  not  caused  by  the  wilful  carelessness  of  such  an  employe 
and  not  a  necessary  accompaniment  of  the  work  engaged  in."f 

*  Encyclopedia  of  Industrialism,  p.  143. 

t  Barnett:  External  Injuries  of  Workmen,  p.  57. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


139 


N.  Y.  State  Factory  Commission. 
Open  Caustic  Pot  in  Foreground  without  Rail  or  Guard. 


140  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  German  definition  of  the  word  accident  as  stated  by  the 
insurance  office,  is  the  following:  "a  sudden  occurrence  during 
work  which  injures  the  health  and  interferes  with  the  earning  ability 
of  the  worker." 

The  subject  of  prevention  of  industrial  accidents  must  necessarily 
be  based  upon  a  thorough  study  of  the  causation  of  accidents,  in 
order  to  determine  the  means  by  which  they  may  be  avoided. 

The  English  classification  of  the  causes  of  accidents  takes  into 
consideration  the  following  main  points:  (1)  accidents  caused  by 
machinery  moved  by  mechanical  power;  (2)  by  machinery  not 
moved  by  mechanical  power;  (3)  struck  by  falling  body;  (4)  persons 
falling;  (5)  struck  by  tools  in  use;  (6)  accidents  caused  by  fire  and 
other  accidents. 

The  German  Insurance  Office  gives  fourteen  groups  of  causes 
of  accidents,  as  follows:  (1)  motors,  transmission  and  machinery; 
(2)  elevators  and  hoistways;  (3)  steam  boilers,  steam  pipes  and 
boiling  apparatus;  (4)  explosives;  (5)  fire,  dangerous  materials, 
gases  and  fumes;  (6)  falling  of  objects;  (7)  fall  from  ladders,  stairs, 
in  excavations,  hatchways;  (8)  loading  and  unloading  by  hand, 
carrying  and  lifting;  (9)  conveyances;  (10)  steam  railroad;  (11) 
transportation;  (12)  shipping;  (13)  tools  and  simple  utensils;  and 
(14)  miscellaneous. 

Whatever  the  causes  of  accidents  may  be,  it  is  evident  that 
there  are  very  few  accidents  indeed  in  which  the  personal  factor 
does  not  play  some  role,  direct  or  indirect,  remote  or  near, 

When  we  speak  of  the  personal  factor  in  the  causation  of  acci- 
dents we  do  not  speak  in  the  legal  sense  or  intend  to  indicate  "  per- 
sonal responsibility "  on  the  part  of  the  person  injured.  The 
personal  element  in  the  causation  of  accidents  is  always  present, 
whether  it  is  due  to  the  fault  of  the  person  injured  or  to  other 
persons  or  to  the  fault  of  no  one  at  all.  If  we  therefore  attempt 
to  classify  the  causes  of  accidents  which  are  directly  or  indirectly 
due  to  the  personal  factor  in  industry,  the  following  will  have  to  be 
discussed:  (a)  age,  (6)  sex,  (c)  ignorance,  (d)  physical  unfitness, 
(e)  carelessness,  and  (/)  improper  personal  equipment. 
_  Age  is  a  very  important  factor  as  a  cause  of  accidents.  A  child 
or  minor  is  not  able  to  take  proper  care  of  itself,  and  it  has  been 
recognized  by  legislative  enactments  of  practically  all  civilized 
countries  that  no  child  or  minor  under  a  certain  age  should  be  per- 
mitted to  work  in  any  place;  and  that  minors  under  a  certain  age 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  141 

should  not  be  allowed  to  work  near  dangerous  machinery  or  proc- 
esses. 

The  report  of  the  departmental  committee  on  accidents  in 
Great  Britain  referred  to  above,  clearly  showed  that  the  accident 
risk  of  young  persons  is  considerably  higher  than  that  of  adults.* 
The  report  adds  that  the  higher  rate  for  young  persons  is  accounted 
for  by  the  greater  inexperience  of  boys  and  girls  and  the  greater 
recklessness  of  the  boys.t  Statistics  of  accidents  of  practically 
every  country  are  to  the  same  effect,  viz.,  that  children  under  fourteen 
years  are  entirely  unable  to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  if  allowed 
to  work  become  ready  victims  of  the  slightest  mishap  in  the  factory; 
and  that  even  older  children  under  twenty-one  years  have  not  the 
same  stability  of  character,  and  sense  of  self-preservation  which  may 
be  expected  from  adults. 

Statistics  as  well  as  practical  experience  have  also  proven  that 
women  as  a  class  are  more  prone  to  industrial  accidents  than  adult 
males,  and  that  women  especially  do  not  take  good  care  of  them- 
selves when  working  near  dangerous  machinery.  It  is  also  claimed 
that  women  are  more  apt  to  be  injured  because  of  recurring  periodi- 
cal weaknesses  and  pathological  conditions,  during  which  the  female 
workers  have  not  the  same  strength  or  ability  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves in  emergencies.  Labor  legislation  in  many  countries  has 
taken  cognizance  of  this  fact  and  has  prohibited  women  from 
working  in  specially  hazardous  occupations,  restricted  their  work 
with  certain  machinery,  and  limited  the  participation  of  female 
adult  workers  in  general  industry. 

—  Ignorance  is  a  prolific  cause  of  industrial  accidents.  By  ignor- 
ance is  meant  ignorance  of  the  trade,  ignorance  of  the  dangers  of 
the  trade,  or  ignorance  of  the  language  and  manners  of  the  place 
where  the  industry  is  located.  It  is  obvious  that  in  every  industrial 
establishment  it  is  only  the  one  who  is  trained,  who  is  skillful,  who 
understands  the  trade,  who  knows  the  machinery  which  he  handles 
and  the  tools  with  which  he  works,  who  can  avoid  the  dangers  and 
mishaps  liable  to  occur  while  at  work.  It  is  also  evident  that  it 
is  not  only  unwise,  but  criminal  on  the  part  of  employers,  to  entrust 
any  work  requiring  skill  or  any  dangerous  part  of  the  industry  to 
those  who  are  ignorant  or  unskillful,  or  who  do  not  understand 
the  tools  or  machinery  which  they  are  obliged  to  use.  ) 

In  a  country  where  so  many  industries  depend  on  foreign  labor, 

*  Report  of  the  Departmental  Commissittee  on  Accidents,  p.  19. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  20. 


142 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


many  accidents  happen  through  failure  of  the  non-English  speaking 
workmen  to  understand  directions  or  to  read  the  warning  signals. 
In  some  industries  the  lives  of  "  wops  "  or  "  hunkies  "  are  held 
very  cheap  and  their  deaths  are  not  even  recorded.  Out  of  525 
fatal  accidents  in  Allegheny  County,  132  were  due  to  ignorance; 
22  of  the  men  killed  were  "  green  ";  they  had  been  in  some  cases 
only  a  few  hours  on  the  job;  all  had  been  on  the  job  less  than  six 
months.  Most  of  them  were  foreigners;  thirteen  of  them  were  only 
boys  from  fourteen  to  eighteen  years  old.* 


Unprotected  Transmission  Belt  Less  than  Six  Feet  from  the  Ground. 

The  British  report  has  the  following  to  say  about  unskilled  labor 
in  industry: 

"  The  unskilled  worker  is  more  liable  to  accident  than  the  trained 
mechanic.  Thus,  in  ship  building,  we  heard  that  accidents  were 
more  frequent  amongst  the  laborers  than  amongst  the  skilled  men. 
In  the  cotton  trade  we  were  told  that  in  the  boom  years  the  intro- 
duction of  new  and  unskilled  workers  increased  the  accident  risk 
...  (It  was  testified  before  us  that)  the  greater  use  made  of 
unskilled  labor  during  the  introduction  of  automatic  machinery 
in  the  brass  trades  was  the  cause  of  the  increased  accident  risk; 
also  that  an  increase  in  risk  in  engineering,  ship  building,  iron 

*  Eastman:  Work  Accidents  and  the  Law,  p.  87. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  143 

smelting,  general  building  and  joinery  is  due  to  the  decay  of  the 
apprenticeship  system."* 

The  increase  of  accidents  among  workers  in  the  chemical  indus- 
tries in  New  York  State  was  proved  by  the  New  York  State  Factory 
Commission  to  be  due  to  the  large  number  of  foreigners  employed, 
especially  in  the  western  part  of  the  State.  The  larger  number  of 
accidents  among  foreigners  is  certainly  due  not  only  to  their  lack 
of  skill  and  ignorance  of  the  trades,  but  also  to  their  inability  to 
understand  the  orders  of  the  foremen  or  the  notices  and  signs  which 
are  supposed  to  teach  them  the  dangers  of  their  calling. 
—  The  next  most  important  factor  in  the  causation  of  accidents 
due  to  the  personal  factor  may  be  found  in  the  physical  unfitness  of 
many  of  the  workers,  who  have  not  the  physical  strength  for  the 
tasks  allotted  to  them.  The  manufacturer  who  would  not  think  for 
a  moment  of  introducing  into  his  factory  an  untested  machine,  the 
employer  who  will  take  all  reasonable  precautions  to  see  that  his 
tools  and  appliances  are  properly  constructed  and  tested,  will  not 
hesitate  to  take  into  his  employ  a  large  number  of  workers  of 
whose  physical  capacity  and  health  he  has  no  conception  whatever, 
and  who  may  be  afflicted  with  diseases  that  make  them  a  source 
of  danger  to  the  whole  factory. 

A  person  suffering  from  epilepsy  is  not  a  proper  person  to  carry 
a  box  full  of  dynamite,  and  yet  very  few  employers  inquire  whether 
their  workers  who  are  entrusted  with  such  important  tasks  are 
subject  to  this  disease.  A  worker  who  suffers  from  disease  of  the 
eyes  may  become  a  victim  to  certain  accidents  which  are  easily 
avoided  by  a  worker  having  good  eyesight.  A  person  suffering 
from  hernia  is  not  to  be  entrusted  with  carrying  heavy  weights; 
while  a  worker  having  cardiac  disease  is  not  the  proper  person 
for  too  hard  labor.  It  is  only  natural  that  when  workers  are 
accepted  without  preliminary  examination  and  without  a  test 
as  to  their  fitness,  that  accidents  will  happen  which  would  not 
have  occurred  had  a  preliminary  test  been  made  to  find  out  the 
physically  unfit. 

The  accidents  due  to  physical  unfitness  cannot  be  computed 
and  do  not  appear  in  accident  statistics,  but  there  is  no. doubt  what- 
ever that  many  industrial  accidents  are  directly  due  to  the  inferior 
health  and  the  physical  unfitness  of  the  workers. 

Whenever  the  causes  of  accidents  are  discussed  with  representi- 

*  Great  Britain:  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Accidents,  p.  19. 


144 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  145 

lives  of  employers,  great  stress  is  usually  laid  upon  the  large  number 
of  accidents  due  to  the  carelessness  of  the  workers.  The  subject 
of  carelessness,  heedlessness,  bravado,  recklessness,  is  harped  upon 
over  and  over  again  by  employer,  superintendent  and  foreman  in 
every  factory  an  inspector  visits;  so  that  one  is  sometimes  com- 
pelled to  conclude  that  in  the  opinion  of  employers  and  their 
representatives,  from  90  to  95  per  cent  of  industrial  accidents  are 
due  to  nothing  else  than  the  personal  carelessness,  negligence  and 
recklessness  of  the  workers  themselves. 

-"  That  the  carelessness  of  workers  is  very  often  a  cause  of  accidents 
in  factories  cannot  be  denied.  There  is,  however,  no  doubt  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  have  studied  the  subject  and  those  who  are 
familiar  with  industry,  that  the  importance  of  this  factor  has  been 
greatly  exaggerated.  As  one  of  those  who  has  made  a  thorough 
study  of  the  subject  aptly  says: 

"  For  heedless  workers  no  defense  is  made;  for  the  inattentive, 
we  maintain  that  the  human  powers  of  attention  are  in  every  case 
further  limited  by  the  conditions  under  which  work  is  done — long 
hours,  heat,  noise  and  intensity  of  speed.  For  the  reckless  ones  we 
maintain  that  natural  inclination  is  in  every  case  encouraged  and 
inevitably  increased  by  an  occupation  involving  constant  risk; 
recklessness  is  part  of  the  trade.  .  .  .  These  two  kinds  of  care- 
lessness cannot  be  fairlyjjalled  the  faults  of  the  workers."* 

In  the  steel  industries  or  in  the  building  of  skyscrapers,  the  value 
of  the  worker  is  in  his  very  recklessness  and  in  his  taking  of  chances 
which  to  an  outsider  seem  foolhardy.  In  many  of  these  industries 
the  worker  takes  his  life  in  his  hands  every  minute,  and  it  would  be 
absurd  to  blame  these  workers,  where  such  recklessness  is  a  neces- 
sary corollary  of  their  calling. 

German  statistics  attribute  about  20  per  cent  of  accidents  to 
want  of  skill  and  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the  workers.  But 
even  among  these  accidents  many  cases  may  be  deducted  in  which 
the  seeming  carelessness  was  necessitated  by  the  conditions  under 
which  the  industry  was  carried  on. 

On  this  point  the  opinion  of  the  English  Departmental  Committee 
on  Accidents  (p.  18)  is  of  interest.  The  Committee  was  of  the 
opinion  that 

"  There  is  a  large  class  of  accidents  sometimes  said  to  be  due  to 
carelessness;  but  often  arising  from  the  inevitable  fallibility  of  the 
human  machine.  Such  are  cases  of  workers  allowing  their  hands 

*  Eastman:    Work  Accidents  and  the  Law,  p.  95. 


146  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

to  be  drawn  into  rollers  when  feeding  a  machine  or  putting  their  hands 
under  an  automatic  press.  Such  accidents  are  to  be  expected, 
especially  when  workers  are  constantly  engaged  at  one  monotonous 
operation  and  the  ultimate  deadening  of  the  faculty  of  attention 
leads  to  the  brain  failing  to  cooperate  with  the  hand  or  foot. 
Against  all  such  accidents  it  is  necessary  to  take  every  possible 
precaution.  It  is  impossible,  as  some  employers  put  it,  to  make 
factories  fool  proof;  but  on  the  other  hand  it  is  important  to  expect 
and  guard  against  accidents  due  to  momentary  inattention  and 
heedlessness,  slips  of  hand  or  foot  or  other  consequences  of  human 
fallibility." 

A  great  many  accidents  that  occur  in  industrial  establishments 
are  due  to  the  removal  by  the  workers  of  guards  installed  on  certain 
machines.  Such  removal  is  often  made  for  the  purpose  of  increasing 
speed,  and  leads  to  the  nullifying  of  the  safety  devices  installed  by 
employers.  While  in  most  cases  the  workers  themselves  are  at 
fault,  one  must  take  into  consideration  the  fact  that  many  of  these 
safeguards  are  either  improperly  constructed  or  are  so  attached 
as  to  make  the  work  more  difficult,  and  the  worker  less  able  to 
earn  his  reasonable  wages,  especially  when  paid  by  the  piece.  The 
employer  or  his  representatives  are  often  at  fault  in  these  cases 
through  devising  appliances  which  are  easily  removable,  or  in  fail- 
ing by  proper  supervision  and  frequent  inspection  to  see  that  the 
safeguards  are  maintained  in  their  proper  places. 

Another  serious  cause  of  accidents  is  the  cleaning  of  machinery. 
In  an  analysis  of  accidents  by  the  British  Departmental  Committee 
on  Accidents  in  Factories,  it  was  found  that  527  accidents  occurred 
in  one  year  while  cleaning  cotton  spinning  machinery  alone.  It 
is  peculiar  that  one-sixth  of  the  cases  occurred  on  Saturday.  It 
is  also  noticeable  that  in  the  total  of  all  accidents  to  females  in 
cotton  spinning  from  Monday  to  Friday  not  less  than  227  occurred 
on  Friday,  and  that  a  gradual  increase  took  place  from  120  to  124 
from  Monday  to  Friday.* 

Mr.  Bellhouse  of  the  factory  department  testified  as  follows : 

"  In  considering  the  accidents  as  a  whole,  one  is  struck  first 
of  all  by  the  large  proportion  that  occur  under  this  head.  I  have 
had  the  returns  for  this  year  carefully  analyzed  and  it  is  found 
that  more  than  30  per  cent  of  the  machinery  accidents  were  to  be 
attributed  to  this  cause,  and  that  they  cover  a  large  proportion 
of  the  accidents."! 

*  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Accidents,  p.  34. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  35. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


147 


Women,  minors  and  children  are  more  apt  to  be  injured  while 
cleaning  machinery  in  motion  than  male  adults.     There  is  no  doubt 
that  cleaning  machinery  while  in  motion  is  one  of  the  most  prolific 
causes  of  factory  accidents.. 
-~    There  is  one  more  factor  in  the  personal  equation  of  accident 


Falls  of  People 
Machine  Accidents 
Hit  by  Objects 


Handling  Objects 

Tools 

All  other  Accidents 


Comparative  Chart  of  the  Five  Largest  Groups  of  Accidents  Reported  during 
Eighteen  Months  (Industrial  Commission  of  Wisconsin). 

causation  which  is  of  importance,  and  which  must  be  taken  into 
consideration  while  discussing  the  causes  of  accidents.  This  factor 
is  the  personal  care  which  the  employe  takes  of  himself  and  his 
clothes.  Many  accidents  are  caused  by  the  hair  of  women  being 


148  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

drawn  into  machinery,  by  loosely  worn  clothing  which  is  apt  to  be 
caught  in  gears,  etc.;  and  by  the  failure  to  wear  proper  glasses  and 
goggles  to  protect  the  eyes  in  industries  where  they  are  liable  to  be 
injured  by  flying  chips,  etc.  Many  fatal  and  serious  accidents 
are  due  to  these  causes,  and  no  discussion  of  the  prevention  of 
industrial  accidents  would  be  of  value  which  did  not  take  into  con- 
sideration the  proper  way  for  workers  to  care  for  their  persons. 

I  shall  here  give  a  rapid  review  of  the  principles  and  methods 
of  preventing  accidents  due  to  the  personal  factor. 

In  almost  all  civilized  countries,  the  principle  of  prohibiting  the 
participation  in  industry  of  children  under  a  certain  age  has  already 
been  adopted  as  a  cardinal  principle  of  the  law.  The  age  limit 
differs  in  each  country;  in  some  states  the  age  limit  is  as  low  as  ten 
years,  while  in  others  it  is  as  high  as  sixteen  years.  Prohibition 
is  not  only  extended  to  general  work  in  the  factory  but  also  to  special 
industries,  processes  and  appliances.  Restriction  is  often  graded 
according  to  the  danger  of  the  work.  In  some  work,  the  age  limit 
has  been  raised  as  high  as  twenty-one  years;  while  in  others  the  age 
limit  ranges  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  and  eighteen  years.  The 
tendency  of  legislation  is  to  a  further  raising  of  the  age  limit,  although 
no  ideal  standard  has  yet  been  established.  According  to  some, 
no  person  under  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  even  under  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  should  be  at  all  employed  in  any  industry;  while  others 
concede  the  reasonableness  of  the  employment  of  minors  between 
sixteen  and  twenty-one,  but  insist  upon  their  restriction  to  certain 
kinds  of  work. 

There  is  less  unanimity  on  the  subject  of  women's  work.  There 
are  a  few  radicals  who  claim  that  there  is  no  place  for  women  in  the 
factory.  Advanced  labor  legislation  has  succeeded  in  prohibiting 
the  night  work  of  women,  in  prohibiting  the  work  of  women  in 
certain  specially  hazardous  industries  and  withdrawing  a  large 
number  of  dangerous  processes  from  women  workers. 

That  group  of  accidents  due  to  ignorance,  whether  of  the  trade, 
dangerous  elements  of  the  trade,  or  of  the  language,  may  only  be 
prevented  by  a  system  of  education.  Such  a  system  of  education 
must  be  thorough  and  comprehensive  and  should  begin  with  child- 
hood and  be  continued  through  all  the  stages  of  growth  and  develop- 
ment, and  not  be  cut  off  even  within  the  factory.  Too  little  atten- 
tion is  paid  at  present  in  the  public  schools  to  industrial  education. 
Very  little  attention  is  paid  to  vocational  guidance  and  many  per- 
sons enter  trades  for  which  they  are  entirely  unfit. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  149 

Especially  is  there  great  need  of  apprentice  schools  and  continua- 
tion schools,  which  have  been  established  in  some  places  to  fit  the 
graduate  of  the  public  school  for  his  work  in  certain  trades.  It 
seems  absurd  to  allow  a  child  just  out  of  school  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
to  select  a  trade  for  itself  or  to  enter  industrial  establishments 
without  preparation  for  the  work  it  is  to  do.  The  period  between 
fourteen  and  eighteen  and  perhaps  twenty-one  years  should  be 
spent  partly  within  an  industrial  establishment  and  partly  within 
an  apprentice  or  continuation  school.  By  such  a  method  of  indus- 
trial education  it  would  be  possible  to  train  persons  for  industries 
to  prepare  them  for  the  skillful  trades,  to  make  them  realize  the 
dangerous  elements  in  each  industry,  and  to  prepare  them  for  the 
handling  of  the  tools,  apparata  and  machinery  of  each  trade. 

Nor  should  education  be  discontinued  on  entering  the  factory. 
It  should  be  continued  within  industrial  establishments  for  young 
and  old,  in  order  to  fit  them  for  their  work  and  to  constantly  improve 
their  skill,  and  increase  their  knowledge  and  chances  of  promotion. 
This  principle  has  been  recognized  by  a  great  many  employers  in 
the  establishment  of  the  so-called  "  corporation  schools,"  in  which 
every  endeavor  is  made  by  the  employers  to  educate  their  employes, 
to  increase  their  skill  and  enable  them  to  avoid  the  dangers  and 
risks  incident  to  the  trades. 

Needless  to  add,  no  foreigner  should  be  allowed  to  enter  an 
establishment  without  receiving  preliminary  instruction  in  his  own 
language  in  regard  to  the  dangerous  elements  of  the  tools  or  machines 
he  is  to  work  with.  In  such  cases  the  responsibility  is  placed  squarely 
upon  the  employer  and  his  representatives,  and  care  must  be  taken 
by  signs,  by  notices,  by  proper  periods  of  instruction  in  the  language 
understood  by  the  worker  to  so  train  him  that  he  understands  all 
the  elements  of  his  work,  and  is  able  to  take  care  of  himself  and  to 
avoid  those  pitfalls  and  dangers  which  lurk  on  every  step  of  the 
modern  factory. 

Accidents  due  to  the  physical  unfitness  of  workers  may  be  pre- 
vented by  physical  examinations  and  rigid  medical  tests  of  every 
applicant  for  work,  a  practice  already  established  in  the  army,  navy, 
railroad  and  public  service  work.  A  person  entering  the  military 
service  or  the  navy  or  becoming  an  employe  of  a  railroad  or  other 
public  service  corporation  must  undergo  a  thorough  medical  examina- 
tion. The  federal  government,  the  state,  and  the  municipality  will 
not  accept  a  fireman,  a  policeman,  a  letter  carrier  or  any  other  worker 
without  a  test  of  physical  fitness.  Why  this  system  should  not 


150  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

be  extended  to  all  industries  and  should  not  be  made  a  routine 
practice  in  every  industrial  establishment  in  the  country  is  difficult 
to  comprehend.  We  speak  of  efficiency  and  efficiency  engineering, 
and  yet  neglect  one  of  the  most  vital  points  in  efficiency,  viz.,  the 
physical  fitness  of  the  worker. 

The  practice  should  be  extended  even  further.  Not  only  should 
there  be  a  routine  physical  examination  of  every  worker  in  every 
establishment  before  employment,  but  there  should  be  a  periodical 
examination,  not  less  than  once  in  three  months,  by  competent 
medical  men,  of  every  employe  in  the  establishment,  to  determine 
his  physical  condition  and  his  fitness  for  his  special  work.  The 
medical  supervisor  in  each  factory  is  just  as  necessary  a  part  of 
industrial  life  as  is  the  engineer  or  the  superintendent  of  a  factory. 
Who  can  doubt  that  complete  medical  supervision  of  industrial  life 
will  prevent  a  great  many  of  the  accidents  of  modern  industry, 
that  it  will  remove  a  number  of  risks  and  dangers  and  alleviate 
untold  pain  and  misery?  Medical  supervision  of  industry  is  already 
an  established  fact  in  certain  dangerous  trades  in  European  coun- 
tries. It  is  being  at  present  introduced  in  many  places  in  the  United 
States  and  is  surely  destined  to  extend  until  it  will  embrace  our  whole 
industrial  life. 

There  remain  to  be  considered  the  industrial  accidents  due  to 
the  so-called  carelessness  of  workers  themselves,  to  their  neglect  to 
use  the  guards  constructed  for  their  safety,  to  the  cleaning  of 
machinery  during  motion  with  or  without  the  consent  of  the  em- 
ployers and  to  the  lack  of  personal  care.  Some  of  these  accidents, 
such  as  those  due  to  the  removal  of  guards,  may  be  prevented  by 
better  construction  of  these  guards,  by  introducing  guards  which 
are  not  easily  removable;  while  others,  such  as  those  occurring  from 
cleaning  machinery  in  motion,  may  be  prevented  by  rigid  super- 
vision and  inspection,  and  centering  the  liability  for  accidents 
upon  the  employers  and  their  agents. 

Many  of  the  accidents  due  to  this  special  factor  could  be  pre- 
vented by  rigid  supervision  and  inspection,  and  by  an  attempt  at 
cooperation  of  employers  with  employes  in  the  work  of  accident 
prevention.  The  United  States  Steel  Corporation  and  many  owners 
of  large  establishments  have  introduced  systems  of  thorough  super- 
vision by  the  employers,  by  special  inspectors,  by  safety  com- 
mittees, by  the  foremen  and  by  the  workers  themselves.  "  Safety 
first,"  at  present  the  slogan  of  so  many  industrial  establishments, 
is  sure  to  bring  results  and  become  a  potent  factor  in  accident 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


151 


prevention.  It  is  only  by  constant  supervision  that  the  number  of 
accidents  due  to  carelessness,  to  ignorance  and  to  lack  of  personal 
care  may  be  lessened.  The  education  of  workers  and  foremen 
within  the  establishment  is  a  part  of  this  method  of  supervision 
and  is  the  basis  of  all  accident  prevention. 

Improper  dressing  of  the  hair  by  women  workers  has  been  the 
cause  of  a  great  number  of  accidents,  some  of  them  of  a  very  serious 
character.  Girls  with  flowing  hair  bending  under  the  machines 
have  been  scalped  by  having  strands  of  their  hair  caught  in  gearing 
or  shafts.  In  all  occupations  where  such  accidents  may  occur,  the 


Musee  de  Prevention  des  Accidents  du 
Travail  et  d' Hygiene  Industrielle. 


German  Factory  Uniforms. 


Leather   Leggins,  Apron  and  Wooden  Shoes  worn  by  French  Foundry  Workers 
for  Protection  against  Metal  Burns. 


hair  ought  to  be  flatly  dressed  and  tightly  fitting  caps  should  be  worn. 
The  sleeves  of  a  coat  or  strings  of  aprons  or  part  of  a  skirt  are  easily 
drawn  into  moving  machinery,  causing  severe  and  sometimes  fatal 
injuries  to  the  worker.  Special  close  fitting  overalls  should  be 
worn  by  all  workers  having  charge  of  machinery  who  pass  near 
shafting  and  gearing. 

Certain  occupations  require  special  dress:  thus,  boiler  workers 
wear  special  overalls;  also  those  who  are  working  in  foundries,  in 
bleach  chambers,  in  chemical  works,  etc.  Wherever  work  is  done 
near  places  where  splashes  of  acid  or  burning  liquids  or  sparks 
from  burning  matter  may  drop  upon  the  clothes,  the  worker  should 


152 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


wear  a  leather  apron  or  other  protective  clothing.  Workers  in  sand- 
blasting chambers  sometimes  wear  a  closed  helmet  to  protect  them 
from  the  dust;  such  helmets  are  also  worn  in  other  specially 
dangerous  occupations.  Some  of  these  helmets  contain  a  supply  o*f 
oxygen  so  as  to  allow  the  workers  to  breathe  for  a  certain  time 
without  inhaling  the  air  of  the  room  in  which  they  are  working. 


Face-Mask. 


Sometimes  it  is  important  to  have  the  feet  protected.  In 
foundries  boots  of  a  stout  leather  that  will  not  burn  easily  and 
cover  the  foot  well  above  the  ankle  should  be  worn.  In  certain 
chemical  factories  the  shoes  should  be  of  a  material  that  is  not 
acted  upon  by  the  chemicals  with  which  they  may  come  in  contact. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  153 

Workers  on  explosive  materials  must  not  have  any  metal  tacks 
attached  to  their  shoes.  Workers  in  electrical  workshops  are  usually 
protected  by  rubber  gloves,  etc. 

Gloves  are  necessary  in  occupations  where  the  workers  must 
handle  materials  which  are  poisonous  or  liable  to  injure  the  skin 
of  the  hands.  Complaint  is  made  by  employers  and  superintendents 
that  the  workers  will  not  use  the  gloves  and  discard  them  as 
soon  as  they  are  out  of  sight  of  the  foremen.  In  most  of  these 
cases  the  difficulty  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  gloves  are  not 
furnished  by  the  employer,  but  bought  by  the  employes  them- 
selves; and  as  these  gloves  tear  very  easily,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  a  worker  will  try  to  save  gloves  which  cost  him  from  fifty 
to  seventy-five  cents  a  pair,  and  need  to  be  changed  every  week  or 
oftener.  In  this  respect  it  is  important  to  add  that  all  special 
clothing,  caps,  overalls,  shoes,  gloves,  etc.,  needed  for  special  work 
in  factories,  should  be  provided  by  the  employers  and  should  be 
maintained,  laundered  and  kept  in  good  condition  by  them;  and 
the  foremen  or  special  inspectors  should  see  to  it  that  the  clothing 
is  in  good  condition  and  is  being  worn  when  necessary. 

Eye  Injuries  and  Eye  Glasses.  A  large  number  of  accidents 
resulting  in  injuries  to  the  eyes  of  the  workmen  may  be  avoided 
by  wearing  protective  glasses.  The  Wisconsin  Industrial  Com- 
mission cites  a  total  of  366  eye  accidents  reported  from  September 
1,  1911,  to  January  1,  1913.*  In  twenty-four  cases  the  eyesight 
was  lost  completely;  in  seven  cases  eyesight  was  impaired  perma- 
nently, and  in  the  remaining  335  cases  the  injured  persons  were  dis- 
abled for  at  least  eight  days  or  more.  Approximately  one  out  of 
every  twenty-five  accidents  results  in  eye  injury.  In  industries 
where  a  great  deal  of  grinding  and  chipping  is  done,  the  percentage 
is  much  higher.  The  report  continues  as  follows: 

"  The  most  significant  thing  about  these  accidents  is  the  ease 
with  which  they  may  be  prevented.  Of  the  total  reported  in  this 
state  it  is  safe  to  say  that  70  per  cent  might  have  been  prevented 
by  the  use  of  eye  glasses  or  goggles.  The  American  Steel  Foundry 
has  adopted  a  type  cf  goggles  for  chippers  shown  in  cut,  and  during 
the  past  three  years  has  reduced  eye  injuries  about  80  per  cent." 

There  are  many  different  kinds  of  protective  eye  goggles.  In 
1899  the  Union  of  the  German  Trade  Associations  offered  a  prize 
for  the  best  treatise  on  eye  glasses  and  goggles  for  the  protection 

*  Bulletin  of  Industrial  Commission  of  Wisconsin,  Vol.  II,  No.  7,  March  28,  1913,  p.  171. 


154 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Hartmann's  UnfaHverhutungstechnit. 

Safety  Eye  Glasses. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  155 

of  workers,   and  Hartmann  and  Villaret  won  the  prize  for  their 
treatise  on  the  subject. 

GENERAL  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  A  PROPER  PROTECTION 
OF  EYE  GLASSES  FOR  WORKERS 

1.  Glasses  must  be  light  and  well  framed. 

2.  They  must  be  easily  put  on  and  comfortably  fitted. 


Copyrighted  by  Carl  M.  Hansen.     Reproduced  by  permission. 

Safety  Goggles. 

3.  They  should  present  as  large  a  field  of  vision  as  possible. 

4.  The  glasses  must  allow  plenty  of  air  circulation  so  that  the 
eye  should  not  be  heated  or  dimmed  by  moisture. 

5.  The  lenses  in  the  goggles  must  be  so  fitted  as  to  be  easily 
exchanged. 

In  dusty  or  smoke-filled  rooms  eye  goggles  must  be  thickly 
screened  and  adhere  to  the  face  with  some  soft  stuff  such  as  leather, 
linen  or  cotton,  and  the  lenses  must  be  made  so  that  they  may  be 


156  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

easily  cleaned.     Workers  in  glaring  light  should  wear  glasses  with 
colored  lenses  to  reduce  the  glare. 

Ill 

THE   GENERAL   CAUSES   OF  ACCIDENTS  AND   THEIR 
PREVENTION 

In  the  previous  section,  accidents  have  been  discussed  which 
are  due  to  the  personal  factor  in  industry.  In  this  section  I  shall 
take  up  the  general  causes  of  industrial  accidents,  those  mainly 
due  to  defective  materials,  appliances,  defects  in  the  construction 
of  the  factory,  and  certain  economic  and  physical  conditions,  under 
which  industry  is  conducted.  I  shall  also  discuss  the  large  group 
of  accidents  which  are  due  to  falling  objects,  to  falls  from  various 
defective  appliances,  to  fatigue,  to  overspeed  and  to  long  hours  of 
labor. 

Defective  Materials,  Tools  and  Appliances.  The  number  of 
accidents  due  to  this  cause  is  large.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible 
to  have  all  appliances,  all  tools,  and  all  materials  in  a  perfect  con- 
dition at  all  times.  But  it  is  the  fault  of  the  management  when  a 
tool  or  an  appliance  within  a  factory  becomes  a  source  of  injury 
to  the  workers.  Handles  made  of  iron  or  of  other  material,  tools 
of  the  same  character,  if  cracked  or  partly  broken,  are  liable  to 
cause  great  harm  if  the  defect  is  not  discovered  in  time.  It  is  the 
duty  of  the  owner  and  his  representatives  to  thoroughly  test  all 
materials,  tools  and  appliances  which  are  used  in  his  factory, 
and  to  .subject  them  to  frequent  tests,  so  that  slight  imperfections 
may  be  repaired  and  more  serious  defects  avoided. 

Weights  and  Falling  Objects.  Many  injuries  are  caused  by 
falling  objects  within  the  factory.  In  the  statistics  of  industrial 
accidents  for  the  second  quarter  of  1913  of  the  New  York  State 
Labor  Department,  3890  cases  belonged  to  this  group. 

The  methods  of  preventing  such  accidents  need  not  be  gone 
into  in  detail.  When  the  factory  is  well  constructed  and  properly 
managed  there  is  no  reason  for  such  accidents.  Wherever  temporary 
repairs  are  made  on  the  ceilings  or  upper  parts  of  the  walls  or  on 
machinery,  or  other  parts  within  the  factory  from  which  some 
object  is  liable  to  fall,  solid  platforms  should  be  constructed  under 
the  places  where  the  work  is  being  done;  or  stout  muslin  covers 
stretched  underneath,  and  signs  put  out  to  warn  the  workers  against 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


157 


coming  under  places  where  they  may  be  injured  by  falling  objects; 
or  the  dangerous  areas  may  be  railed  off. 

Defective  Floors,  Stairs,  Platforms,  Ladders,  Etc.  In  the  same 
bulletin  of  the  labor  department  it  is  stated  that  1298  injuries 
occurred  during  the  second  quarter  of  1913  as  a  result  of  falls  from 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Triangular  Ladder  with  Steel  Points 
at  Bottom. 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 
Safety  Oiler's  Ladder. 


ladders,  from  scaffolds,  from  machinery,  collapse  of  supports,  falls 
from  hoistways,  stairs,  falls  by  slipping,  etc.  In  the  British  report 
for  1912  there  were  no  less  than  412  fatal  cases  and  18,728  non-fatal 
accidents  due  to  persons  falling.  In  the  German  statistics  the 
accidents  resulting  from  falls  from  ladders,  stairs,  etc.,  amounted 
to  1 .43  per  thousand. 


158 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Most  of  these  accidents  are  due  to  defective  or  slippery  floors, 
to  stairs  which  are  either  not  strong  enough  or  have  missing  steps 
or  rails,  slippery  or  broken  treads,  insecure  platforms,  unrailed 
platforms,  balconies,  etc.  A  number  are  also  caused  by  defective 
ladders  or  by  ladders  falling  down  because  of  improper  support  and 
insecure  position.  The  Wisconsin  Commission  gives  in  its  Bulletin 
No.  4,  a  very  detailed  report  on  the  character  of  these  accidents.* 
A  total  of  393  accidents  due  to  slipping,  stumbling,  slipping  on  walks 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Dangerous  Open  Stairway  on  Outside  of  Building. 

or  passageways,  etc.,  are  given  for  a  period  of  eighteen  months  from 
September  1,  1911,  to  March  1,  1913.  For  this  period  the  report 
shows  that  13.2  per  cent  of  all  accidents  (of  which  there  were  10,517) 
or  nearly  one-half  as  many  as  occurred  on  all  machines  were  caused 
by  the  falls  of  workmen.  Most  of  these  accidents  were  of  a  very 
serious  nature:  48  resulted  in  death,  425  in  fractured  bones,  30  in 
serious  internal  injuries.  The  actual  loss  in  wages  suffered  by  the 
injured  amounted  to  almost  $70,000. 

*  Bulletin  of  Industrial  Commission  of  Wisconsin,  Vol.  II,  No.  10,  June  20,  1913. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  159 

The  report  continues: 

"  In  many  cases  these  accidents  might  have  been  prevented 
by  better  shop  lighting  and  proper  application  of  safety  appliances. 
Better  instruction  of  men  and  great  care  on  the  part  of  the  work- 
men would  have  prevented  most  of  the  accidents." 

Floors  should  always  be  in  good  condition.  Floors  must  not  be 
broken  or  chipped.  Stone,  concrete  or  cement  floors  must  not 
have  holes  in  them.  Linoleum  or  other  covering  must  be  kept 
in  good  condition  so  as  not  to  trip  the  worker  through  some  imper- 
fection. Stairs  must  be  solidly  built  and  provided  with  proper 
steps  at  regular  intervals;  such  steps  should  be  well  constructed 
and  their  treads  should  not  be  slippery.  In  factories  where  there 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Stairway  Equipped  with  Safety  Tread. 

is  a  great  deal  of  moisture  or  where  the  materials  worked  with  are 
such  that  they  may  cause  moisture,  the  treads  must  be  made  of  the 
type  of  so-called  "  safety-treads,"  which  will  hold  the  shoe  and 
prevent  it  from  slipping.  All  stairways  should  be  provided  with 
rails  on  both  sides.  If  stairs  are  wide,  a  middle  rail  should  be 
furnished.  Platforms  must  always  be  guarded  by  rails  or  balconies 
and  all  openings,  manholes  in  the  floor,  or  any  part  of  a  factory 
should  l)e  properly  guarded.  All  rails  on  stairways  should  be 
securely  fitted  and  kept  smooth  and  free  from  nails  or  splinters. 
Rubber  mats  or  mats  o»  other  non-slippery  substance  should  be 
nailed  on  the  steps. 

Falls  from  ladders  cause  many  accidents  of  a  serious  nature, 
some  of  them  fatal.     Ladders  are  often  not  strong  enough  for  the 


160  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

weight  they  have  to  support.  Rungs  are  often  missing  or  are  weak 
and  easily  broken  off.  The  Wisconsin  report  already  mentioned 
shows  that  141  accidents  were  due  to  falls  from  ladders,  of  which 
68  were  due  to  the  ladders  breaking.  Proper  inspection  must  be 
made  of  all  ladders  to  assure  the  worker  that  these  appliances  are 
in  good  condition,  and  tests  should  be  made  to  see  whether  they  are 
able  to  stand  the  strain  upon  them. 

Ladders  should  be  equipped  at  the  top  with  safety  hooks  to 
prevent  them  from  slipping  sideways.  It  is  best  not  to  use  portable 
ladders  at  all,  but  to  construct  permanent  stairways  where  frequent 
access  must  be  had  to  elevated  points.  Safety  hooks  on  the  top 
are  a  means  of  preventing  the  ladders  from  slipping,  but  the  legs 
should  also  be  secured  so  that  the  step-ladder  cannot  spread,  and 
should  be  provided  with  steel  points  or  other  means  to  prevent 
them  from  slipping. 

Light  and  Ventilation.  Many  accidents  are  due  to  insufficient 
or  improper  lighting.  According  to  John  Calder,*  "  Insufficient 
lighting  is  the  cause  of  numerous  accidents,  particularly  serious 
and  fatal  falls."  Mr.  Calder  has  observed  that  the  maximum  of 
accidents  occurs  toward  the  close  and  the  beginning  of  each  year; 
that  is,  during  November,  December  and  January, — the  months  of 
minimum  daylight.  He  says,  "  the  influence  of  the  duration  and 
intensity  of  natural  light  in  working  hours  in  fatal  and  serious 
accidents  is  particularly  noticeable  in  bridge  building  and  ship 
building,  engineering,  steel  and  iron  works,  and  other  operations 
that  have  to  be  carried  on  within  a  large  space,  often  entirely  in  the 
open  air  and  not  easily  illuminated  artificially  to  the  exclusion  of 
deep  shadows."  In  the  report  of  the  New  York  State  Factory  Com- 
mission, f  it  was  stated  that  in  24.5  per  cent  of  all  shops  investigated 
light  was  defective.  In  the  printing  industry  48.4  per  cent  of  the 
shops  were  poorly  lighted;  in  the  candy  factories  49.2  per  cent; 
and  in  laundries  36.7  per  cent.  The  report  on  chemical  trades 
draws  attention  to  the  large  number  (64.4  per  cent)  of  the  factories 
inspected  where  lighting  was  found  inadequate.  The  report  con- 
tinues: 

"  In  going  through  chemical  establishments  one  often  passes 
through  dimly  lighted  passages  where  numbers  of  workers  are 
engaged  either  in  shoveling  dangerous  mixtures  into  wheel  barrows, 
or  packing  toxic  products  into  barrels,  Or  working  around  vats, 
caldrons  and  tanks  filled  with  dangerous  liquids  among  clouds  of 

*  Journal  of  American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers,  Vol.  XXXIII,  Part  I,  p.  141. 
t  New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission,  1913.  Vol.  II,  p.  428. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  161 

steam  or  chemical  fumes.  Any  carelessness  on  the  part  of  these 
workers  resulting  in  a  spurt  of  these  liquids  might  mean  a  permanent 
injury.  In  one  of  the  electrolytic  plants  at  Niagara  Falls  a  worker 
was  observed  in  a  dark  corner  passing  .under  an  iron  trough  clumsily 
supported  on  wooden  blocks  and  filled  with  hot  liquid  caustic  acid, 
every  drop  of  which,  coming  in  contact  with  the  body,  would 
produce  a  painful  and  permanent  injury.  The  only  light  was  an 
incandescent  bulb  held  by  the  workers  to  illuminate  the  running 
of  the  caustic  in  the  trough  and  the  filling  up  of  the  iron  drums 
with  the  liquid.'7* 

The  danger  of  insufficient  light  in  a  factory  crowded  with 
machinery  in  motion  is  obvious. 

Lack  of  ventilation  and  bad  air  within  the  shop  and  factory 
often  cause  nausea,  vertigo  and  insufficient  oxygenation  of  the 
blood,  and  hence  directly  or  indirectly  may  cause  accidents. 

Overcrowding,  etc.  There  is  no  condition  so  conducive  to  the 
occurrence  of  accidents  as  lack  of  space  and  overcrowding  in  a 
factory  of  machinery,  benches,  boxes,  and  materials.  Especially 
is  overcrowding  dangerous  near  moving  machinery,  shafts,  gearing, 
etc.,  where  the  clothing  or  parts  of  the  body  of  persons  passing 
may  be  drawn  in.  Too  narrow  aisles  between  machinery  in  textile 
factories  have  been  a  frequent  cause  of  accidents. 

The  remedy  for  this  condition  is  simple  and  obvious.  Roomier 
factories  and  the  leaving  of  plenty  of  space  around  dangerous  machin- 
ery pay  in  the  reduction  of  accidents  and  in  better  general  efficiency. 

Accidents  Due  to  Monotony  of  Work,  to  Fatigue,  to  Speeding 
and  Prolonged  Hours  of  Labor.  A  large  number  of  accidents  are 
known  to  be  due  to  fatigue  caused  by  overwork,  by  prolonged 
hours  of  labor,  and  by  other  conditions  which  weaken  the  body 
and  dull  the  brain  of  the  worker. 

Monotony  and  overspeeding  of  machinery,  long  hours  of  labor, 
work  during  the  night,  work  without  sufficient  rest,  work  in  indus- 
tries where  the  twelve-hour  shift  is  employed,  work  in  continuous 
industries  which  employ  their  workers  during  seven  days  of  the  week, 
— all  these  cause  over-fatigue  of  the  body,  muscles  and  nerves 
of  the  workers,  leading  directly  or  indirectly  to  a  great  number  of 
industrial  accidents  in  our  factories  and  workshops.  Long  hours 
are  especially  dangerous  in  those  industries  where  women  work. 
Testimony  was  presented  by  the  investigators  in  canneries  that 
some  women  were  working  excessive  hours,  and  several  cases  were 
found  where  women  were  working  as  long  as  115  to  117J  hours 

*  New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission,  1913,  Vol.  II,  p.  465. 


162  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

per  week.*  A  photographic  copy  of  a  pay  card  of  one  of  the  women 
workers  is  reproduced  on  next  page. 

The  report  of  the  Pittsburgh  Survey  has  shown  that  many 
accidents  are  due  to  the  long  hours  or  excessive  speed  with  which 
the  great  steel  industry  is  conducted.  The  seven-day  week,  the 
twelve-hour  day,  the  twenty-four  successive  hours  on  duty  of  the 
men  in  the  Pittsburgh  Steel  Mills  have  been  found  to  be  responsible 
for  the  enormous  loss  of  life  and  limb  within  those  mills.  In  the 
ceaseless  drive  and  pressure  of  the  factory  something  must  give 
way.  More  often  than  not  it  is  the  worker.  The  long  factory  day 
results  in  fatigue  for  the  worker,  and  fatigue  brings  death  and  injury 
in  its  train.  The  relationship  between  fatigue  and  accidents  has 
been  definite!}'  established  by  investigations  made  in  France,  Ger- 
many, Italy  and  the  United  States.  Briefly  summarized,  the 
results  of  all  investigations  show  that  the  number  of  accidents 
increases  with  the  number  of  hours  worked,  and  the  number  of 
casualties  occurring  during  the  last  hour  of  the  forenoon  and  the 
last  hour  of  the  afternoon  is  almost  double  the  number  of  those 
occurring  during  the  first  two  hours  of  the  day. 

In  the  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  on  the  Condition  of  Women 
and  Child  Wage-earners  in  the  United  States,  an  account  is  given 
of  accidents  occurring  in  metal  manufacture,  in  cotton  mills,  and 
in  general  manufacture,  in  the  states  of  Indiana  and  Wisconsin. 
According  to  a  table  of  accidents  given  in  the  report,  the  hours 
between  three  and  four  in  the  afternoon  show  the  heaviest  accident 
rate;  also  the  hours  between  ten  and  eleven  and  eleven  and  twelve. 
Of  course,  the  accident  rate  is  a  complex  product  depending  on  a 
variety  of  factors,  and  deductions  can  not  always  be  made  from  the 
figures.  The  Departmental  Committee  on  Accidents  of  Great 
Britain  also  collected  some  figures,  which  indicate  "  that  the  most 
dangerous  hours  are  from  ten  to  eleven  A.M.  and  three  to  four  P.M."; 
while  another  table  seems  to  indicate  that  the  most  dangerous  hour 
for  women  in  both  morning  and  afternoon  is  an  hour  later  than  the 
most  dangerous  hour  for  men. 

As  to  speeding,  the  conclusion  of  the  British  Departmental 
Committee  on  Accidents  was  that : 

"  On  the  whole  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  there  is  increased 
speed  and  pressure  in  a  large  number  of  industries,  and  that  is 
probably  operating  to  produce  an  appreciable  increase  in  accident 
risk." 

*  Second  Report  of  the  New  York  State  Factory  Commission,  Vol.  II,  p.  820. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


163 


Time  Card. 


Price,.* 


19// 


% 

<m 


n  Tbursda 
i     Friday 


£M 


I   Saturday  J 


Total  hour 


ets=  $_f. 


ay— 20  Fr 

Wednesday- -21      tf  rday- 

Total  for  week'  117*  I/ ^   ho- 
She  Rot-  for  ttis  work- -10   oents  pe: 


164  THE  MODERN  FACTORY, 

The  United  States  Government  report,  referred  to  previously, 
states  that  any  increase  of  speed  of  operation,  unless  accompanied 
by  some  counteracting  safeguard,  may  be  expected  to  show  a  higher 
accident  rate.  That  such  increase  of  speed  during  part  or  all  of  the 
work  period  is  the  general  practice,  is  the  common  opinion.  The 
report  continues: 

"  There  will  be  some  tendency  to  minimize  the  factor  of  fatigue 
in  the  above  process,  because  it  is  not  a  matter  of  acute  sensation. 
We  can  recognize  and  measure  with  some  accuracy  the  gradual 
increase  of  the  fatigued  condition  before  sensation  begins  to  advise 
us  of  its  presence.  It  is  a  steadily  progressive  process.  The  margin 
of  safety  in  modern  industry  is  small.  It  is  measured  too  frequently 
by  fractions  of  an  inch.  Reduce  the  alertness  and  the  exactness 
with  wrhich  the  body  responds  to  the  necessities  of  its  labor,  and 
by  just  so  much  have  you  increased  the  liability  that  the  hand 
will  be  misplaced  that  fraction,  which  means  mutilation."* 

It  is  quite  evident  that  if  factory  accidents  are  to  be  decreased, 
one  of  the  first  steps  should  be  the  reduction  of  working  hours. 
Brief  pauses  during  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  and  the  middle  of 
the  afternoon  would  probably  have  some  effect  in  reducing  the  num- 
ber of  accidents.  Until  the  hours  of  labor  in  industrial  establish- 
ments where  the  strain  of  industry  is  great  are  materially  reduced, 
we  cannot  hope  for  any  considerable  reduction  of  accidents  in 
industry. 

In  establishments  where  it  is  well  known  among  the  men  that 
speed  comes  first  and  safety  next,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  the 
workers  will  take  risks.  When  the  accidents  do  occur  their  victims 
will  be  called  foolhardy  by  the  very  men  who  would  have  praised 
their  recklessness  had  the  accidents  not  resulted. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  unrelaxing  tension  and  speed 
in  the  American  steel  mill  makes  for  danger.  To  go  slow  would 
be  to  go  backward  in  industry,  and  that  is  more  than  can  be 
expected  of  America;  but  by  shortening  the  hours  of  work  the  dan- 
gers of  speed  can  be  lessened.  The  minds  and  bodies  of  the  men 
can  be  kept  up  to  the  pace  of  the  mill.  Greater  intensity  of  work 
necessitates  longer  periods  of  relaxation.  If  the  strain  of  the  work 
cannot  be  lessened,  duration  must  be.  No  steel  company  can 
maintain  that  it  has  done  everything  to  prevent  accidents  until 
it  has  reduced  the  work  hours  of  men  in  such  responsible  positions."  f 

*  Report  on  Condition  of  Women  and  Child  Wage-earners  in  the  United  States,  Vol.  XI, 
p.  101. 

t  Crystal  Eastman:    Work  Accidents  and  the  Law,  p.  73,  74. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  165 

Efficiency  engineers  and  practical  manufacturers  already  know 
that  a  reasonable  shortening  of  the  daily  hours  of  labor  does  not 
lead  necessarily  to  a  lessening  of  the  output;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
often  increases  it.  The  human  body,  unlike  the  inanimate  machine, 
has  inherent  power  of  self-recuperation,  and  the  practice  of  working 
the  body  for  all  it  is  worth  and  then  discarding  it  on  the  scrap  heap, 
is  wasteful  and  criminal. 

Hours  of  labor  should  be  adjusted  to  the  physical  fitness  of  the 
worker,  to  his  bodily  strength,  to  the  industry  in  which  he  is  em- 
ployed, to  the  kind  of  work  which  he  performs,  and  to  the  character 
of  operations  with  which  he  is  entrusted.  Some  of  the  larger  states 
prohibit  night  work  for  women,  and  limit  the  weekly  hours  of  work 
to  fifty-four,  and  in  some  places  to  fifty  hours.  The  eight-hour 
normal  workday  has  been  established  in  many  industries,  has  been 
adopted  by  many  enlightened  employers,  and  is  destined  to  become 
the  general  normal  day's  work.  The  three-shift  system  of  eight 
hours  each  instead  of  the  two  shifts  of  twelve  hours  is  being  gradually 
introduced  in  the  steel  and  other  continuous  industries,  and  will 
probably  soon  become  a  general  practice  in  the  United  States. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  we  have  not  introduced  in  the  United 
States  the  custom  prevalent  abroad  of  allowing  the  workers  a  quarter- 
hour  pause  during  the  forenoon  and  afternoon.  I  have  often  watched 
the  workers  in  the  large  factories  in  France,  Belgium  and  Germany, 
and  have  seen  how  they  enjoyed  the  quarter-hour  pauses  at  10  A.M. 
and  at  4  P.M.,  and  how  much  more  alert  they  seemed  for  work  after- 
wards, and  it  seems  to  me  it  is  a  mistaken  policy  of  the  American 
manufacturers  not  to  follow  suit  and  introduce  this  procedure, 
which  surely  leads  to  greater  efficiency  and  to  the  decrease  of 
accidents. 

As  to  the  prevention  of  accidents  due  to  monotony  and  certain 
monotonous  processes,  experiments  have  already  been  made  by 
some  manufacturers  in  changing  the  workers  from  one  process  to 
another;  and  much  may  be  done  by  scientifically  arranging  the  work 
so  as  to  lessen  the  monotony  and  give  the  worker  an  interest  that 
will  keep  his  mind  alert  and  thus  prevent  some  of  the  accidents 
due  to  this  cause. 

There  is  one  other  consideration  which  as  yet  has  received  very 
little  attention  in  this  country  except  in  one  process,  but  which  is 
destined  to  receive  greater  attention  in  the  future.  This  is  the 
adjustment  of  the  hours  of  work  to  the  danger  of  the  trade,  and  the 
lessening  of  the  hours  of  labor  in  specially  dangerous  trades.  The 


166  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

only  adjustment  so  far  which  has  been  made  by  legislation  in  this 
respect,  is  the  considerable  shortening  of  hours  in  caisson  work, 
where  the  men  labor  in  air  with  increased  pressure.  Doubtless, 
after  proper  study,  a  corresponding  decrease  will  be  made  in  other 
dangerous  trades,  so  as  to  adjust  and  proportionate  the  hours  of 
labor  to  the  kind  of  work  and  the  amount  of  danger  in  the  processes 
and  materials. 

IV 

THE    PREVENTION    OF    ACCIDENTS    DUE    TO    TRANSPORTA- 
TION  WITHIN   THE   FACTORY 

Much  transportation  is  necessary  within  factories.  Consign- 
ments of  raw  materials  are  constantly  arriving  which  must  be  con- 
veyed to  the  different  parts  of  the  establishment,  and  transported 
from  one  place  to  another,  until  finally  the  finished  product  is  sent 
out  from  the  factory.  There  are  a  great  many  opportunities  for 
accidental  injuries  to  workmen  participating  in  the  process  of  trans- 
portation. Indeed,  a  large  proportion  of  accidents  within  the 
factory  are  due  to  this  cause. 

The  methods  of  transportation  within  the  factory  differ  with 
the  character  of  the  factory  and  the  kind  of  materials  and  mechanical 
appliances  used.  A  rough  classification  of  all  the  methods  of  trans- 
portation within  the  factory  would  include  the  following  groups: 
(a)  hand  carrying  and  lifting  without  tools;  (6)  use  of  tools;  (c) 
hand-trucks,  carts,  wagons,  etc.;  (d)  ropes,  chains,  and  winches; 
(e)  mechanical  cranes  for  horizontal  transportation,  and  (/)  vertical 
lifts,  hoistways  and  elevators. 

Transportation  accidents  may  be  prevented  by  (1)  providing 
mechanical  appliances  wherever  possible  so  as  to  take  off  the  burden 
of  transportation  from  the  workers  themselves;  (2)  prohibiting 
minors,  women,  and  adults  who  are  not  physically  fit,  from  participat- 
ing in  factory  transportation;  and  (3)  an  intelligent  supervision 
of  the  process  cf  transportation  so  as  to  give  no  worker  too  heavy  a 
task. 

A  number  of  tools  and  appliances  are  used  to  facilitate  the  work 
of  transportation.  Certain  materials  which  workers  are  unable  to 
handle  are  carried  on  poles  or  by  means  of  tongs  or  other  appli- 
ances which  may  sometimes  slip  or  get  out  of  order  and  thus  injure 
the  worker.  In  carrying  carboys  filled  with  acids  great  care  should 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


167 


be  taken  to  prevent  breaking  of  the  carboys  and  the  consequent 
possibility  of   injuring    the  workers   with  splashes  of  the  acid,  etc. 


Hartmann's  Unfallverhutungstechntk 

Self-Acting  Safety  Catch. 

Special  means  of  carrying  these  carboys  have  been  devised  from 
time  to  time,  and  one  of  them  is  shown  in  the  illustration  on  page 
170. 


168 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Boxes,  carts,  barrels,  rail  wagons,  etc.,  are  often  used  in  trans- 
portation. Where  cars  are  operated  on  rails,  brakes  should  be 
provided.  When  cars  are  large  it  is  necessary  to  prevent  persons 
crossing  the  rails  while  the  cars  are  in  motion.  In  such  cases  some 
means  are  needed  for  warning  persons  from  coming  into  the  path 
of  the  car. 

Materials  and  objects  are  transported  from  one  place  to  another 
by  mechanical  means,  either  by  overhead  steel  cranes  or  mechanical 
conveyors.  Conveyors  are  at  present  used  in  many  factories  for 


Hartmann's  UnfallveThutungstechnito. 

Methods  of  Lifting  Barrels  and  Sacks. 


Overload  Detector. 


mechanical  and  automatic  shifting  of  materials.  They  are  the  cause 
of  a  great  many  accidents.  It  is  important  that  conveyors  should 
not  move  at  too  great  a  speed,  that  they  should  be  constructed  so 
as  not  to  injure  the  hands  of  the  workers  and  should  also  be  provided 
with  handy  stopping  devices.  Conveyors  located  near  the  floor 
should  be  well  guarded  and  overcrowding  of  the  factory  should  be 
avoided,  as  it  may  compel  the  workers  to  step  on  the  conveyors 
and  slip  or  fall. 

Cranes  are  used  in  transporting  and  handling  large  objects 
and  are  very  dangerous  appliances  when  improperly  constructed 
and  operated  without  precaution  and  proper  supervision.  The 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  169 

installation  of  cranes  must  be  made  under  the  supervision  of  com- 
petent engineers  and  they  should  be  tested  before  installation  and  at 
frequent  intervals  while  in  use.  Cranes  should  be  operated  by 
skilled  persons  and  provided  with  warning  gongs  and  signals. 

A  simple  and  popular  method  of  lifting  certain  objects  within 
the  factory  is  by  the  use  of  ropes,  cables,  or  chains,  which  are  put  on 
pulleys  and  worked  by  winches  operated  by  steam,  compressed 


Hartmann's  Unfallrerhutungstechnilf.    Frledrlch  Krupp,  A.  G.,:;Essen 

Workers  in  Asbestos  Clothing  Carrying  Crucible  of  Molten  Metal. 

air  or  electricity.  The  important  parts  in  such  transporting  appli- 
ances are  (1)  the  catching  device  or  that  part  which  first  gets  hold 
of  the  objects  to  be  lifted  and  carried,  (2)  the  ropes,  cables  or  chains 
by  which  the  objects  are  lifted,  and  (3)  the  mechanical  appliances 
by  which  the  rope  is  lifted  up  and  made  to  carry  the  object  to  the 
point  desired. 

There  are  a  number  of  devices  for  the  proper  catching  of  objects 
and  there  are  various  forms  of  hooks,  tongs,  etc.,  so  devised  as  not 
to  slip.  Some  of  these  are  shown  in  the  illustrations  on  page  168. 
Where  objects  are  sharp  or  angular  it  is  best  to  wrap  them  up 


170 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


with  some  rags,  or  blankets,  or  to  insert  pieces  of  wood,  etc.,  in 
different  places  so  as  to  get  a  better  hold  upon  the  object.  The 
ropes  and  cables  must  be  tested  and  should  be  able  to  carry  the 
necessary  weights.  They  should  also  be  so  attached  as  to  carry 
the  weight  in  its  center  of  gravity.  It  is  important  in  lifting  an 


Museum  of  Safety,  Charlottenburg,  Berlin. 

Tongs  for  Safe  Carrying  of  Crucibles. 

object  to  have  someone  to  guide  it  so  that  it  does  not  catch  on 
projections.  All  chains  should  be  annealed  at  least  once  every  six 
months.  Attention  must  also  be  given  to  the  proper  railing  of 
the  floor  openings  through  which  the  object  is  carried,  so  as  to 


Hartmann's  Unfallverhiitunstechnil. 
Safety  Wheel  Barrows  for  Carrying  Acids. 


prevent  persons  from  falling  through  them.  Warning  must  also 
be  given  to  all  persons  standing  near  the  place  where  the  object 
is  descending.  It  is  also  important  to  fix  the  maximum  load 
which  may  be  carried  by  the  lifting  apparatus  and  provide  it  with 
a  good  brake  arrangement. 


FACTOEY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY        171 

The  winches,  tackle  and  mechanical  apparatus  for  the  winding 
of  the  ropes  and  chains  must  be  properly  constructed,  all  the 
gears  guarded,  and  should  be  operated  by  a  careful  person.  In 
a  large  industrial  establishment  of  the  Bayer  Chemical  Works  I 
saw  iron  filings  lifted  by  huge  magnets  carrying  several  tons  at 
each  ascension. 

Hoistways  and  Elevators.  Hoistways  and  elevators  are  the 
best  methods  of  transporting  weights  and  objects  as  well  as  persons 
in  a  vertical  direction  from  one  floor  to  another,  but  are  a  frequent 
cause  of  accidents  in  factories. 

In  an  article  on  the  "  peril  of  vertical  travel,"  Mr.  Frazee  says: 

"  The  number  of  persons  injured  and  killed  throughout  the 
United  States  by  preventable  elevator  accidents  is  appalling,  and 


Museum  ol  Safety.  Charlottenburg.  Berlin. 
A  Safe  Method  of  Loading  Barrels. 

is  increasing  constantly,  owing  to  the  never-ceasing  erection  of 
buildings  within  which  countless  elevators  are  installed,  adding 
greatly  to  those  already  in  use  throughout  the  United  States.  It 
was  estimated  in  1912  that  there  were  in  that  year  between  7000 
and  8000  fatal  accidents  on  elevators,  and  about  10,000  persons 
injured.  From  1908  to  1912  in  New  York  City  alone,  upwards 
of  400  persons  were  killed  on  passenger  and  freight  elevators,  and  a 
greater  number  were  injured.''* 

There  is  not  much  difference  between  the  general  construction 
of  an  elevator  and  a  hoistway,  except  that  the  hoistway  is,  as  a  rule, 
not  so  well  protected  as  an  elevator  and  is  used  almost  exclusively 

*  Safety  Engineering  for  November,  1913. 


172  LTHE  MODERN  FACTOEY 

for  carrying  freight,  while  an  elevator  is  used  for  carrying  persons 
as  well  as  freight. 

The  following  are  the  most  important  parts  of  elevators:  (a)  the 
shaft,  (6)  the  cage,  (c)  the  cables,  ropes,  and  chains,  (d)  the  motive 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Hatchway  Safeguarded  with  Half  Automatic  Gate. 

power,  (e)  the  gearing,  machinery,  etc.,  (/)  the  safety  devices,  and 
(g)  the  operator. 

Some  elevators  have  no  permanent  shaft  or  airwell  within  the 
building,  but  are  provided  with  adjustable  trap  doors  which  close 
when  the  elevator  is  out  of  the  way,  and  automatically  open  as  soon 
as  the  elevator  reaches  them. 

The  shaftwell  is  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the  elevator.  It 
is  open  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  and  is  dangerous  as  a  means  of 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


173 


spreading  fire  and  because  of  the  possibility  of  persons  falling  into 
it.  The  shaftway  should  be  surrounded  entirely  with  a  fireproof 
enclosure  either  of  wire  glass  on  metal  lath  and  metal  frame  or  of 
solid  plaster  not  less  than  two  inches  thick,  or  of  brick,  concrete 
or  tile  of  sufficient  thickness  to  give  rigidity.  The  enclosure  must 
extend  to  the  top  and  include  the  pent  house  where  the  sheaves 
or  machinery  above  the  shaftway  are  located.  All  projections  in 


ishted  by  Carl  M.  Hansen. 
eproduced  by  permission. 

Elevator  with  Hatch  Covers. 

elevator  shafts,  such  as  floors,  beams  and  sills,  unless  guarded  against 
by  the  car  enclosures,  must  be  provided  with  smooth  buffered  guards 
fitted  directly  under  them  so  as  to  push  any  such  projection  back 
of  the  car. 

The  doors  from  the  floors  to  the  shaft  are  the  most  important 
part  of  the  elevator  enclosure.  These  doors  must  fill  the  entire 
opening  to  the  shaft  and  should  be  constructed  of  solid  metal,  wire 
glass,  or  grill  work  with  openings  not  less  than  If  inches  square  and 
If  inches  long  by  1  inch  wide.  The  doors  must  have  sufficient 


174 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


strength  to  withstand  a  level  pressure  in  the  center  of  not  less  than 
250  pounds.  The  use  of  semi-automatic  gates,  especially  on  freight 
elevators,  is  preferable.  These  gates  can  only  be  opened  by  the 
operator  of  the  car,  but  close  automatically  when  the  car  leaves 
the  floor.  Many  of  the  new  elevators  are  so  constructed  that 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 
Side  Post  Freight  Platform  Enclosed. 

they  cannot  move  either  up  or  down  until  the  door  is  locked.  This 
is  accomplished  by  mechanical  devices  or  by  electrical  contact  cir- 
cuits. There  are  a  number  of  mechanical  devices  for  automatically 
locking  doors;  most  of  them  are  very  good  and  tend  to  prevent 
numerous  accidents. 

The  next  important  part  of  the  elevator  is  the  cage  in  which  the 
freight  or  persons  are  being  carried.     The  cage  or  car  should  be  made 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


175 


entirely  of  metal  or  of  grill  work;  and  the  platform  of  the  car  must, 
of  course,  have  a  certain  factor  of  safety  above  and  beyond  its 
normal  load.  Cars  should  be  entirely  enclosed,  as  open  platforms 
are  dangerous  even  when  railed  off.  The  cars  or  cages  should  be 
provided  with  artificial  light  and  have  a  light  at  the  bottom  of  the 
cage  near  the  door,  so  as  to  prevent  persons  from  slipping  or  falling 
when  the  platform  is  not  flush  with  the  floor.  Each  car  should 
also  be  provided  with  inside  doors  or  gates  which  should  always  be 
closed  while  the  car  is  in  operation.  The  car  or  cage  should  be 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Full-Automatic  Gate,  Open-at-will  Type. 

roofed  over  and  the  roof  made  of  solid  material  to  prevent  objects 
from  falling  into  the  car.  Proper  signals,  gongs,  etc.,  should  be 
provided  so  that  the  operator  of  the  car  may  communicate  with 
persons  outside  of  the  elevator  shaft  when  necessary. 

The  cables  must  never  be  single  and  must  be  strong  enough  to 
bear  a  much  heavier  load  than  usually  necessary.  Cables  should  be 
tested  before  installation  and  must  be  frequently  inspected  during 
operation.  Most  municipalities  compel  elevators  to  be  provided  with 
pit  and  overhead  clearances  so  that  there  is  a  pit  not  less  than 
two  feet  in  depth  below  the  lowest  landing  and  an  overhead  clearance 


176  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

of  not  less  than  two  feet  above  the  highest  landing.  When  elevators 
have  a  high  speed,  these  pits  and  overhead  clearances  should  be 
greater.  Spring,  rubber  or  oil  buffers  resting  on  substantial  founda- 
tion in  the  pit  should  also  be  provided,  and  the  car  so  constructed 
as  to  withstand  the  impact  of  the  buffers.  The  cars  should  be  pro- 
vided with  counterweights  which  are  usually  located  in  the  elevator 
shaftway  and  should  be  properly  guarded  top  and  bottom. 

The  last,  but  not  the  least  factor  in  elevator  safety  is  the  opera- 


Courteay  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 
Semi-Automatic  Gate  for  Elevator. 

Gate  raised  by  hand  at  landing  and  held  open  by  a  pawl,  which  an  arm  on  the  car  engages 
with  a  weight  lock  connected  with  the  gate  by  means  of  a  rope.  As  the  elevator  moves  away 
from  the  landing,  the  pawl  is  released  and  the  gate  drops  back  into  position  by  its  own  weight. 

tor.  Many  states  prohibit  persons  under  twenty-one  years  of  age 
from  operating  elevators  and  hoistways.  Elevator  operators  should 
be  properly  instructed  and  their  knowledge  and  skill  tested  before 
being  allowed  to  operate  any  elevator  independently.  They  must 
know  the  rules  as  well  as  the  technique  of  the  operation  of  the 
machinery,  and  must  always  be  careful  to  avoid  accidents  and  possi- 
ble loss  of  life.  The  following  rules  of  the  Wisconsin  Commission 
give  an  idea  of  the  requirements  imposed  upon  elevator  operators: 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  177 

"  Always  keep  in  mind  that  a  large  number  of  serious  accidents 
are  caused  by  carelessness.  In  stopping  a  steam  elevator,  be  careful 
to  center  the  hand  rope  and  if  the  elevator  creeps  after  it  is  stopped, 
report  at  once  to  the  foreman.  The  brake  requires  adjusting. 

"  Never  allow  anyone  to  scuffle  or  fool  on  your  elevator.  It 
is  always  dangerous. 

"  Never  start  an  elevator  until  the  door  or  gate  at  the  landing 
is  closed,  and  do  not  open  the  door  at  the  landing  until  you  have 
brought  the  elevator  to  a  full  stop.  If  an  elevator,  when  it  is 
stopped,  does  not  hold  the  load  properly,  report  at  once  to  the 
foreman.  The  brake  needs  adjusting. 

"  All  loose  or  tight  ropes  or  any  detected  weakness  or  defect 
in  the  elevator  should  be  at  once  reported  to  the  engineer. 

"  The  elevator  should  not  be  loaded  more  than  its  safe  loading 
capacity. 

"  The  speed  of  the  elevator  should  be  always  adjusted  and 
never  be  too  great. 

"  The  elevator  should  be  started  and  stopped  gradually.  A 
sudden  start  or  stop  may  throw  the  cables  off  the  sheaves  and  sub- 
ject the  whole  machinery  to  severe  stress  and  serious  accident." 

Elevators  and  hoistways  should  be  provided  with  safety  devices, 
such  as  clutches,  brakes,  speed  governors,  etc.,  intended  to  prevent 
the  falling  of  the  car  in  case  certain  parts  of  the  cables  break  and  to 
prevent  other  accidents  which  may  happen  in  the  operation  of  the 
cars.  The  accompanying  illustrations  show  some  of  the  safety 
devices  which  are  used  in  modern  elevator  construction.  The  con- 
structors of  elevators  as  well  as  insurance  companies  maintain  at 
present  a  very  high  class  of  inspectorial  service  to  guard  against 
accidents  by  frequent  inspection  and  testing.  It  is  therefore  unnec- 
essary to  go  further  into  the  technical  details  of  elevator  inspection. 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  ACCIDENTS  DUE  TO  MOTIVE  POWER 
AND    TRANSMISSION   APPARATUS 

Machinery  and  Accidents.  The  modern  factory  system  is 
chiefly  characterized  by  machine  production  and  the  use  of  motive 
power.  The  motive  power  used  in  modern  factories  has  changed. 
At  first  steam  power  was  substituted  for  water  power;  now  electric- 
ity takes  the  place  of  steam. 

The  r61e  of  mechanical  production  in  the  causation  of  industrial 
accidents  is  very  great.  While  a  number  of  accidents  are  due  to 


178 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


other  causes,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  increase  of  industrial  acci- 
dents is  largely  due  to  the  increasing  use  of  machinery.  According 
to  the  report  of  the  British  Departmental  Committee  on  Accidents: 


Courtesy  Norton  Co.,  Worcester.  Mass. 
Guard  in  Front  of  Fly  Wheel. 

"  About  28  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  accidents  are  caused 
by  machinery,  and  of  the  accidents  which  are  reported  by  certifying 
surgeons,  80  per  cent  are  caused  by  power  driven  machinery.  The 
use  of  electric  motors  and  gas  engines  has  made  it  more  easy  to 
obtain  power;  new  inventions  have  enabled  machinery  to  perform 
operations,  and  even  for  simple  operations  automatic  machines  are 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


179 


constantly  taking  the  place  of  hand  work.  The  extent  to  which 
machinery  is  used  is  very  much  greater  than  it  was.  In  steel  mills 
there  is  more  automatic  machinery;  in  ship  building,  more  auto- 
matic machines  are  used,  etc.  We  have  come  to  the  conclusion,  there- 
fore, that  the  increased  use  of  machinery  considered  as  an  isolated 
means  is  one  of  the  causes  operating  to  increase  the  accident  risk." 

According  to  German  statistics,  for  every  thousand  insured 
persons  in  factories  using  power-driven  machinery  33  are  injured; 
while  there  are  16  per  thousand  injured  in  all  industries.* 


Courtesy  Shredded  Wheat  Co. 


Wire  Mesh  and  Sheet  Iron  Guards  Protecting  Chain  Drive  on  Ceiling   Driving 

Wheat  Elevator. 

In  Switzerland,  the  amount  of  horse-power  increased  from  44.1 
for  every  hundred  workers  in  1882  to  119.1  per  hundred  workers  in 
1901.  At  the  same  time  accidents  increased  from  32.01  per  thousand 
workers  in  1888  to  48.35  per  thousand  in  1901  and  1902,  and  to 
62.5  per  thousand  in  1910.* 

American  statistics  show  the  same  proportionate  increase  of 
accidents  accompanying  the  increased  use  of  machinery.  Of  the 
total  18,806  accidents  occurring  in  the  factories  in  New  York  State 
in  the  second  quarter  of  1913,  there  were  no  less  than  6317  accidents 
due  to  mechanical  power,  excluding  those  accidents  due  to  electricity. 

*  Barten:    Notwendigkeit,  Erfolge  und  Ziele  der  technischen  Unfallverhiitung,  p.  33. 


180 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Courtesy  Shredded  Wheat  Co. 

Double  Guard:     1.  Metal  guard  protecting  Reynolds  chain  drive  from  motor 

to  countershaft.     2.  Wire  guard  ^-inch  wire,   1-inch  mesh,  iron 

frame,  covering  bevel  gears  and  clutch. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


181 


The  causes  of  accidental  injuries  to  workers  due  to  machinery 
may  be  divided  into  three  groups:  prime  movers,  transmission 
apparatus  and  machinery  proper.  This  is  a  convenient  method 
of  classification  and  will  be  followed  in  the  following  sections.* 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that  many  accidents 
occurring  in  factories  are  preventable,  provided  certain  methods 
of  safeguarding  are  adopted.  This  is  especially  true  of  accidents 
due  to  machinery.  In  fact,  there  is  no  reason  why  such  accidents 


Courtesy  Shredded  Wheat  Co. 

Sheet  Metal  and  Cast  Iron  Guards  Covering  Gear  Chain  and  Worm  Drives  on 

Triscuit  Oven. 

should  not  be  more  easily  prevented  than  others  occurring  in  fac- 
tories, for  the  ingenuity  and  skill  that  create  intricate  machines 
should  also  be  capable  of  devising  means  of  rendering  them  harmless 
to  the  workers. 

The  general  principles  of  accident  prevention  may  be  briefly 
stated  here  before  giving  the  special  methods  of  safeguarding 
machinery.  The  present  tendency  to  substitute  electric  power 
for  steam  is  a  great  step  toward  the  prevention  of  accidents,  because 

*  In  this  and  in  the  following  sections  no  detailed  mechanical  appliances  will  be  discussed 
except  to  illustrate  the  general  principles  and  the  special  methods  of  accident  prevention. 
I  have  also  decided  to  exclude  the  discussion  of  accidents  due  to  steam  boilers  and  to  elec- 
tricity, as  these  are  within  the  province  of  special  inspectors,  and  discussion  of  the  methods 
of  prevention  would  require  too  many  technical  explanations  and  details. 


182 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


of  the  abolition  of  large  motors,  engines,  flywheels,  etc.,  and  because 
of  the  possibility  of  producing  the  electric  current  outside  of  the 
factory,  thus  avoiding  the  many  accidents  caused  in  the  primary 
production  of  power,  in  the  boiler  houses,  etc.  Another  advantage 
of  electric  power  driven  machinery  is  the  possibility  of  installing 


small  motors  in  each  part  of  the  factory  and  practically  for  every 
machine;  putting  the  stopping  and  starting  of  each  machine  within 
reach  of  the  worker  and  thus  preventing  a  great  many  accidents 


FACTOEY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


183 


Courtesy  Joseph  Bancroft  &  Sons,  Co..  Wilmington.  DeL 
Guard  on  Bleach  House  Machine. 


184  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

which  are  due  to  the  difficulty  of  immediately  stopping  machiner^ 
in  case  of  accident. 

A  most  important  method  of  preventing  accidents  due  to 
machinery  is  the  safeguarding  of  each  machine  by  its  maker — a 
method  already  adopted  by  the  great  trade  associations  of  Germany, 
and  which  ought  to  be  adopted  in  all  states.  There  is  no  reason 
why  each  machine  should  not  be  provided  with  proper  safeguards 
in  the  establishment  where  it  is  manufactured. 

A  method  of  accident  prevention  which  is  general  to  all  industrial 
establishments  is  provision  for  the  testing,  supervision  and  inspec- 
tion of  the  machinery  and  its  parts  before  installation,  as  well  as  a 
periodical  examination  during  maintenance.  All  factories  where 
methods  of  efficiency  have  been  adopted  are  at  present  making  fre- 
quent inspections  of  the  machinery,  in  order  to  discover  defects  and 
to  repair  them  before  they  cause  serious  accidents. 

The  next  basic  principle  of  accident  prevention  is  to  man  each 
machine  with  competent  persons  having  the  necessary  knowledge 
and  skill.  Another  important  precaution  is  the  placing  of  all 
especially  dangerous  large  machines  in  separate  buildings  or  parts 
of  buildings,  and  only  permitting  those  entrusted  with  their  care  to 
come  near  them. 

The  workers  should  be  separated  from  the  dangerous  parts  cf 
machinery  by  fences,  rails,  barriers,  bars  or  boards.  Wherever 
such  a  separation  is  not  practicable,  the  dangerous  parts  of  the 
machinery  should  be  covered  with  metal  plates,  wire  mesh,  etc. 

Motors,  Flywheels,  Etc.  The  location  of  prime  movers  depends 
upon  their  type  and  upon  the  character  of  the  power  used.  Large 
motors  and  engines  are  located  in  separate  parts  of  buildings, 
usually  the  basements  or  cellars.  When  this  is  the  case,  the  con- 
struction of  the  cellar  or  basement,  or  the  separate  building  in  which 
this  part  of  the  machinery  is  located  must  be  solid  and  fire-resisting 
and  effectively  separated  from  all  other  parts  of  the  industrial  estab- 
lishment. The  parts  of  the  building  in  which  the  prime  movers 
are  located  should  have  ample  light  and  adequate  ventilation,  espe- 
cially where  there  is  a  large  escape  of  steam  which  interferes  with 
the  proper  light  conditions  and  causes  dripping  upon  floors  and 
slipping  and  falling  of  persons.  No  overcrowding  should  be  per- 
mitted in  the  engine  room,  and  whenever  engines,  motors  or  parts 
of  the  machinery  are  located  in  pits,  they  should  be  fenced  around 
and  railed  so  as  to  prevent  persons  from  falling  into  them.  The 
engineer  or  the  persons  in  charge  of  the  motors  should  be  able  to 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  185 

them  quickly,  and  signals  audible  in  all  parts  of  the  establish- 
ment should  be  made  for  the  starting  and  stopping  of  the  motors. 
All  engines  should  be  equipped  with  automatic  speed  limit  stops 
and  with  devices  for  stopping  the  machinery  in  each  department  or 
floor  when  necessary.  When  parts  of  the  machines  or  engines  are 
overhead,  stationary  iron  ladders  or  stairways  should  be  provided 
for  reaching  them.  Governor  balls,  piston  rods,  etc.,  whenever 
exposed,  should  be  properly  guarded.  Flywheels  should  be  locked 
for  repairs  and  cleaning. 

Flywheels  constitute  the  first  stage  by  which  power  is  trans- 
mitted from  the  motor  to  the  other  parts  of  the  machinery.  They 
should  be  railed  off  and  fenced  just  as  other  parts  of  the  motors, 
or  safeguarded  by  being  entirely  covered  with  wire  mesh.  The 
danger  of  flywheels  lies  in  their  huge  size,  their  rapid  rotation  and 
the  draught  they  create,  which  is  often  strong  enough  to  draw  in 
the  clothes'  of  a  worker  passing  near  them.  The  accompanying 
illustrations  show  some  of  the  methods  of  protecting  workers  against 
accidents  from  flywheels. 

Wherever  driving  belts,  ropes,  etc.,  are  passed  through  floors 
they  are  very  dangerous.  Such  driving  belts,  ropes  and  chains, 
whether  going  through  the  floor  or  running  horizontally,  should  be 
properly  safeguarded  by  rails,  fences,  bars,  metal  wire  mesh  or  solid 
covers  to  prevent  the  persons  working  or  passing  near  from  being 
drawn  into  them. 

The  danger  of  gears,  cog  wheels,  sprocket  wheels  and  other 
rotating,  moving  and  turning  parts  of  the  machinery  of  transmission 
lies  in  their  projections,  in  the  speed  which  they  usually  attain 
and  in  the  possibility  of  their  drawing  in  the  clothes  and  parts  of 
the  bodies  of  workers  near  them.  The  method  of  safeguarding 
such  machinery  is  simple  and  consists  in  covering  them  with 
metal  or  wire  mesh,  as  illustrated  in  the  accompanying  figures. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  more  dangerous  part  of  the  machinery  than 
the  rapidly  moving  shafts  through  which  the  power  is  transmitted 
from  the  motors.  Their  danger  also  consists  in  the  possibility  of 
persons  being  injured  by  being  drawn  into  these  shafts.  The  safe- 
guarding of  a  shaft  is  necessary  whether  it  is  located  near  the  floor 
or  near  the  ceiling,  or  in  any  part  of  the  building  where  it  is  in  the 
proximity  of  the  workers,  either  at  all  times  or  at  certain  times, 
when  the  machinery  is  being  cleaned,  etc.  Many  accidents  have 
happened  through  failure  to  safeguard  shafts  which  were  above  the 
ordinary  height  of  persons. 


186 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


The  safeguarding  of  shafts  consists  in  covering  them  with  fixed 
or  adjustable  covers,  either  of  metal  or  of  some  other  material,  as 
illustrated  in  the  accompanying  figures.  It  is  important  to  safeguard 
the  ends  of  shafts,  as  many  accidents  happen  when  the  passageway 
between  them  is  too  narrow.  Very  often  hinged  plate  covers  are 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Protruding  Set  Screw  and  Key  way. 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co- 

Countersunk  Set  Screw  and 
Unprotected  Shaft  End. 


used  on  top  of  the  shafts,  or  hinged  aprons  extending  down  from  the 
outside  edges  of  the  plate  to  cover  the  shaft.  These  aprons  are 
usually  made  of  wire  screen  on  steel  frames.  Wherever  shafts  are 
near  the  floor  and  are  not  covered,  they  should  be  boxed  or  railed 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Safety  Collars  for  Set  Screws. 


off.  Wherever  shafts  are  overhead,  solid  and  suitable  platforms 
for  the  use  of  cleaners  and  oilers  should  be  provided.  On  a  motor- 
driven  line  of  shafting,  a  safety  switch  must  be  placed  on  top  of  the 
ladder,  accessible  to  anyone  working  on  this  shafting.  Wherever 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  187 

railing  is  used  for  safeguarding  machinery,  motors,  flywheels,  etc., 
it  should  be  smooth  IJ-inch  angle  iron  or  IJ-inch  iron  pipe,  prop- 
erly fastened  and  solidly  constructed. 

A  dangerous  part  of  transmission  apparatus  consists  in  the 
collars,  couplings  and  screws  with  which  shafts  are  fastened.  Of 
the  set-screws  an  authority  says: 

"  Insignificant  as  it  looks,  the  protruding  set-screw  in  collars 
on  shafting  is  the  cause  of  more  accidents  than  any  other  part 
of  the  machinery,  and  quite  serious  accidents  leading  to  very  bad 
injuries  to  workers.  The  danger  of  the  set-screw  is  its  rapid  motion 
on  the  shafting  and  its  catching  and  entangling  loose  sleeves, 
clothes  or  anything  which  comes  in  contact  with  it.  It  has  often 
been  the  cause  of  a  worker  being  caught  and  whirled  around  shafting 
and  sometimes  even  fatally  injured.  There  is  absolutely  no  neces- 
sity for  these  dangerous  protruding  set-screws.  Protruding  set- 
screws  should  not  be  allowed  to  exist  at  all.  They  should  either  be 
countersunk  so  that  they  will  not  project  beyond  the  surface 
of  the  collar,  or  they  may  be  made  in  hollow  form  flush  with  the 
collar;  and  in  both  cases  may  be  worked  with  some  sort  of  a  key. 
Sometimes  when  set  screws  are  already  constructed,  they  maybe 
made  safe  by  putting  upon  them  a  safety  collar  made  of  wood,  in 
a  hole  of  which  the  screw  is  placed.  Safety  collars  are  made  in  two 
parts  and  are  screwed  together  on  the  shaft.  The  method  of  safe- 
guarding a  protruding  screw  by  winding  some  leather  or  rubber 
or  waste  around  it  is  not  a  good  method,  as  the  material  may  often 
be  unwound  or  get  loose.  The  best  collars  perhaps  are  those  safety 
collars  which  are  fixed  on  the  shafting  without  the  aid  of  any  set- 
screws  at  all."  * 

Belts,  Chains,  Ropes,  Pulleys,  Etc.  The  transmission  of  power 
from  the  motors  to  machines,  wheels,  shafts,  etc.,  is  accomplished 
by  gears,  ropes,  chains  and  belts.  Chains  and  ropes  are  infrequently 
used  and  only  on  special  transmission  apparatus.  Belts  are  made  of 
stout  leather  of  a  width  corresponding  to  the  width  of  the  part  of 
the  machinery  to  be  used  and  of  a  thickness  and  strength  calculated 
to  withstand  the  necessary  strain.  The  danger  points  in  belts 
are  the  possibility  of  sudden  tearing  or  breaking  while  in  motion, 
or  catching  the  clothes  or  part  of  the  body  of  a  person  in  their  prox- 
imity. A  large  number  of  accidents  in  every  factory  are  caused  by 
belts. 

Whenever  belts  are  used  they  should  be  made  of  smooth  leather 
without  any  projections,  and  great  attention  must  be  paid  to  their 
lacing  and  splicing,  which  are  often  faulty  and  cause  many  accidents. 


188 


THE  MODERN  FACTOEY 


While  inspecting  factories  one  frequently  sees  belts  being  tied 
together  with  wire,  which  may  protrude  and  become  a  source  of 
dangerous  injury  to  workers.  In  whatever  position  the  belts  are, 


Courtesy  Norton  Co.,  Worcester,  Mass. 
Wooden  Guards  for  Belting. 

whether  upright,  horizontal,  overhead  or  near  the  floor,  they  should 
be  covered  and  safeguarded  by  either  wire  mesh  or  other  covers. 
Exposed  belts  should  be  boxed  in  or  railed  off  where  they  are  not 
covered,  and  when  they  run  near  where  persons  are  working. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


189 


Courtesy  Aetna  Lile  Insurance  Co. 

Driving  Belt  in  Aisle  Boxed  In. 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Guarded  Countershaft  Used  in  Driving  a  Lathe. 


190 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


A  great  many  accidents  due  to  belting  are  caused  by  hand 
shifting;  and  one  of  the  cardinal  principles  of  safety  in  a  factory 
is  the  absolute  prohibition  of  handling  a  belt  without  using  proper 
shifters.  Especially  is  it  dangerous  to  attempt  to  shift  an  over- 


head belt  which  necessitates  climbing  over  dangerous  machin- 
ery. No  belt  should  be  carried  directly  on  a  shaft  but  should  be 
placed  on  pulleys,  of  which  there  should  be  two — one  a  permanent 
pulley  and  the  other  a  loose  pulley,  to  which  the  belt  may  be  shifted 
when  it  is  not  in  use.  Loose  pulleys  or  idlers  should  be  provided 


FACTORS   ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


191 


on  all  machinery,  and  the  shifting  apparatus  should  be  so  arranged 
that  when  the  belt  is  moved  to  the  loose  pulley  it  will  stay  there  and 
not  creep  back  on  the  tight  pulley  and  thus  start  the  machinery 


(a)  Using  the  Shifter.      (6)  Transmission  Ladder. 


(c)  Belt  Shifter. 


(d)  Belt  Hanger. 


Hartmann's  Unfalherhutungstechnit. 


with  which  it  is  connected.  The  loose  pulley  should  be  indepen- 
dently mounted;  and  pulleys  should  be  made  somewhat  wider  than 
the  width  of  the  belt.  In  German  factories  hangers,  are  provided 


192 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


for  the  belts  to  be  shifted  upon,  especially  where  shafts  are  near  the 
ceiling. 

A  great  many  attached  and  unattached  belt  shifters  have  been 
devised  for  the  purpose  of  shifting  the  belt  from  one  pulley  to 
another  without  danger  to  the  worker.  Some  of  the  illustrations 
show  the  principles  upon  which  these  are  constructed.  Where  belts 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 
Belt  Placer. 

This  is  a  German  device.  It  is  hinged  in  two  places  and  at  the  end  is  a  fork  which  fits 
the  shaft.  At  the  first  joint  is  a  shoe  on  which  the  belt  is  placed  to  guide  it  on  the  pulley.  The 
second  joint,  or  the  one  nearest  the  handle,  permits  the  placer  to  run  around  the  pulley  until 
the  shoe  is  released  between  the  belt  and  the  pulley. 


have  to  be  frequently  removed,  the  guards  should  be  made  on 
hinges  or  hooks. 

The  cleaning,  lubricating  and  oiling  of  engines,  motors,  shafts, 
gears,  and  other  parts  of  machinery  while  in  motion  may  be  pre- 
vented by  the  provision  of  self-oilers  and  self-lubricating  devices, 
of  which  there  are  a  number  on  the  market. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


193 


VI 
MACHINERY 


Courtesy  Eastman  Kodak  Co. 

Punch  Press  Showing  Safety  Guard  in  Operation.     Clutch  cannot  be  tripped 
unless  the  guard  descends  past  the  shear  plane. 

It  is  difficult  to  make  hard-and-fast  rules  for  the  safeguarding 
of  machinery  of  all  kinds  and  types.     In  most  industrial  establish- 


194 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


ments  the  machinery  conforms  to  a  limited  number  of  types,  such 
as:  (1)  hammers,  presses  and  punches;  (2)  rolls  and  calenders; 
(3)  grinders,  mixers  and  centrifugal  machines;  (4)  emery  wheels, 
polishers  and  buffers;  (5)  saws. 

Hammers,  Presses  and  Punches.      There  are  many  types  of 


Corbln  Cabinet  Lock  Co.,  New  Britain,  Conn. 

Safety  Guard  on  Press. 

machines  which  have  for  their  principle  a  downward  movement 
of  one  part  of  the  machine,  for  the  purpose  of  hammering,  pressing 
or  punching  various  materials.  Every  industry  has  machines  of 
this  type.  They  are  especially  numerous  in  the  metal,  paper, 
textile,  leather  and  similar  trades.  The  construction,  size  and  details 
of  each  machine  differ  according  to  the  industry  and  kind  of  work. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  195 

Some  of  them  are  worked  by  hand,  others  by  foot  power;  while 
others  are  automatic  and  mechanical.  Some  of  these  machines 
are  fed  by  hand,  others  are  fed  automatically  by  self-feeders  or 
revolving  feeding  arrangements  and  conveyors. 

All  of  these  types  of  machines  are  dangerous,  in  that  the  fingers 
and  hands  may  be  caught  under  the  hammer,  press  or  punch.  This 
happens  either  because  the  operator  stretches  his  hand  too  far 
while  feeding  the  machine  or  tries  to  correct  the  position  of  the 


Courtesy  Benjamin  Electric  Mfg.  Co. 
Two-Hand  Safety  Device. 

die  or  the  material  inserted,  or  attempts  to  clean  the  die;  or,  finally, 
because  of  slipping  and  falling  under  the  press. 

There  are  a  number  of  methods  by  which  machines  of  this  type 
are  safeguarded.  The  best  method,  of  course,  is  that  which  pro- 
vides for  automatic  feeding  of  presses,  hammers,  and  punches 
either  by  conveyors  or  revolving  feeders,  thus  obviating  the  neces- 
sity of  hand  feeding.  This  has  been  accomplished  in  beer  bottling, 
cigarette  making,  box  making,  confectionery  and  other  machines 
of  this  type,  and  has  resulted  in  a  great  reduction  of  accidents. 
Insecure  footing  and  consequent  falling  of  persons  upon  the  machine 
is  prevented  by  properly  constructed  floors  and  by  providing  rubber 
or  other  non-slipping  mats. 

Foot  treadles  may  be  constructed  so  as  not  to  be  easily  operated 


196 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


except  at  certain  intervals,  by  the  conscious  pressure  of  the  foot. 
Presses  may  be  equipped  with  a  speed  clutch  which  prevents  them 


Courtesy  Pullman  Co. 


Plate  Glass  Guard  (indicated  by  arrow)  to  Prevent  Chips  from  Punch 
Lacerating  the  Eyeball  of  the  Operator. 


from  making  more  than  one  stroke  with  each  depression  of  the 
treadle.  This  clutch  is  so  made  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  operator 
to  repeat  the  press. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


197 


For  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  hands  of  the  operator  from 
coming  under  the  press,  punch  or  hammer,  there  are  several  kinds 
of  safeguards  based  upon  different  principles.  One  class  of  safe- 
guards provides  for  intermediate  instruments  or  tools,  by  which  the 
objects  fed  into  the  machine  are  handled.  Such  tools  vary  from  a 
simple  piece  of  wood  by  which  the  object  is  shoved  under  the  press, 
to  variously  constructed  tongs,  forks,  or  other  appliances  which 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 
Guarded  Stamping  Machine  Used  in  Soap  Factory. 

The  operator  must  put  his  hand  over  one  of  the  two  arms  attached  to  the  shaft  to  put 
the  soap  in  position  on  the  die.  When  the  punch  descends,  the  arms  rise  automatically  and 
force  the  operator's  hands  out  of  the  way. 


prevent  the  hand  from  approaching  the  machine.  Other  safeguards 
are  constructed  upon  the  principle  of  the  "  two-hand  system." 
This  consists  in  making  every  movement  of  the  press  necessitate 
the  handling  of  two  levers  simultaneously,  which  engages  the  hands 
of  the  operator  while  the  press  is  in  motion,  and  thus  prevents  them 
from  getting  under  the  machine.  This  is  the  best  means  of  pre- 
venting accidents.  The  objection  which  is  usually  made  against 


198 


THE  MODEEN  FACTORY 


this  method  of  safeguarding  is  the  fact  that  the  operator  is  compelled 
to  adjust  his  die  and  material  under  the  press  first,  and  then  take 
charge  of  the  hand  levers.  This  takes  some  time  and  the  operation 
is  consequently  not  so  rapid. 

Another   system  of  safeguarding  this  type  of  machine   is  by 
providing  bars,   plates  or  arms,   each    so    constructed  that  with 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Stamping  Press  Guard. 
Operator's  hands  are  pushed  away  by  the  guard. 


every  descending  movement  of  the  press  or  punch,  they  auto- 
matically force  the  operator's  hands  out  of  the  way.  This  is  a 
device  which  may  be  easily  constructed  by  any  mechanic.  Most 
of  the  existing  safeguards  are  constructed  according  to  one  or  other 
of  the  above  named  principles,  and  most  of  them  are  quite 
effective,  easily  constructed,  and  should  be  installed  in  every 
factory.  (See  illustrations  for  details  of  the  safeguarding  methods 
described.) 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


199 


Courtesy  Eastman  Kodak  Co. 


Corner  Cutting  Machine  in  Paper  Box  Department,  Showing  Adjustable  Rods 
Forming  a  Protective  Stop  for  Operator's  Hands  and  Fingers. 


200  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

Rolls,  Calenders,  Etc.  These  machines  are  of  various  types, 
sizes  and  construction  and  are  found  in  almost  every  industry. 
Their  principal  action  is  to  catch  an  object  and  then  by  passing  it 
between  several  close  rolls,  to  flatten,  roll,  knead,  mix,  break  up 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co 

Calender  Rolls  with  Safety  Clutch. 

Power  may  be  instantly  shut  off  by  operator  pressing  on  lever  indicated  by  arrow. 

or  press  it.  Sometimes  these  rolls  are  made  in  the  form  of  knives 
with  the  same  rolling  action.  Rolls  and  calenders  are  used  in  the 
metal  industry  for  flattening  and  rolling  bars  and  plates  of  metal, 
in  all  industries  where  certain  masses  are  to  be  formed  into  flat  or 
other  shapes,  in  all  industries  where  kneading,  mixing  and  breaking 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


201 


up  is  done,  such  as  flour  mills,  and  confectionery  factories;  also  in 
textile  and  clothing  trades  where  ironing  or  pressing  is  done. 

This  type  of  machine  is  more  dangerous  than  the  press,  punch 
and  hammer  previously  described,  for  the  reason  that  while  in  the 
former  a  hand  or  part  of  the  body  may  be  stamped  upon  and  injured, 
in  the  rolls  the  whole  body  may  be  drawn  in  after  the  hand  and 
arm,  and  fatal  injury  may  result.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with 
heavy  rolls  such  as  are  used  in  the  metal  industry. 

The  principles  of  safeguarding  these  machines  and  preventing 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Collar  and  Cuff  Ironer  Guarded. 
Shows  guarding  of  gearing  and  protective  bar  in  front  of  the  feed  rolls. 


accidents  to  workers  operating  them  are  not  very  different  from 
those  upon  which  are  based  the  safeguards  for  presses  and  punches. 
The  same  precautions  against  insecure  footing  of  the  operator  are 
to  be  taken;  in  fact,  it  is  more  important  with  these  machines  than 
with  others.  The  devices  alluded  to  before  for  the  intermediate 
handling  and  feeding  of  the  objects  under  the  machine  may  be 
employed  for  this  type  of  machine  as  well,  although  it  is  perhaps 
necessary  to  modify  them  in  some  respects.  The  feeding  tools 


202 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


used  should  be  thick  enough  to  prevent  their  being  caught  between 
the  rolls. 

It  is  not  as  easy  to  provide  self-feeders  and  automatic  conveyors 


Hartmann's  Unfallverhutunysiechnik. 

Calender  Hand  Safety  Guard. 


Hartmarm's  Unfallverhutungsiechnik. 

Metal  safety  bar  to  prevent  fingers  from  getting  into  the  rolls. 

for  rolls  as  for  punches  and  presses;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  easier 
to  provide  some  apparatus  on  which  the  object  may  be  carried 
into  the  rolls  without  intermediate  handling  by  the  operator. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  203 

An  important  safeguard  on  this  type  of  machine  is  an  apparatus 
by  which  the  action  of  the  rolls  may  be  stopped  and  reversed  in 
case  of  accident  and  thus  disengage  the  caught  part.  An  auxiliary 
wooden  roller  is  often  constructed  at  the  intake  in  front  of  the  feed 
rolls.  Bars  or  strips  of  wood  may  be  placed  in  front  of  certain  feed 
rolls,  especially  in  laundry  machinery,  so  as  to  prevent  the  hand 
from  being  drawn  in.  Most  ironing  machines  may  be  easily  guarded 
by  such  bars  or  rods. 

Grinders,  Mixers,  Centrifugal  Machines,  Etc.  This  type  of 
machine  is  used  for  grinding  or  mixing  materials.  These  machines 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Concave  Safety  Collars  for  Emery  Wheel. 


are  worked  either  by  hand  or  by  power-driven  motors.     A  number 
of  them  are  constructed  on  the  principle  of  centrifugal  action. 

The  safeguarding  of  this  type  of  machine  consists  first,  in  pro- 
viding secure  footing  for  the  operator;  second,  in  using  proper 
material  in  the  construction  of  the  machines;  third,  in  the  provision 
of  brakes  or  other  devices  to  permit  the  immediate  stoppage  of  the 
machines  in  case  of  an  accident;  and  finally,  in  the  provision  of 
suitable  guards  and  covers  so  as  to  prevent  the  drawing  in  of  the 
hands  of  the  operator.  (See  illustration  on  page  207.)  The  princi- 
pal protection  for  this  kind  of  machine  is  a  mechanical  or  electrical 
device  by  which  the  cover  is  kept  down  as  long  as  the  machine  is 
in  action;  and  may  only  be  raised  and  opened  when  the  machine  is 
at  rest. 


204 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


PROTECTION 
HOOD 


PROTECTION 
HOOD 


Courtesy  Norton  Co.,  Worcester.  Mass. 
Cross-section  of  Emery  Wheel. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


205 


Courtesy  Norton  Co. 


Closed  Type  of  Protection  Jlood  on  Grinding  Wheel  Floor  Stand.     Hoods 
connected  with  a  dust  exhaust  system. 


206 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Museum  of  Safety,  Charlottenburg.  Berlin. 

Safeguard  on  Grinder;  also  Dust  Remover. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


207 


Museum  ol  Safety,  Charlottenburg,  Berlin. 
Showing  How  Guards  Kept  the  Broken  Grindstone  from  Injuring  the  Workers. 


of  Safety,  Charlottenburg,  Berlin. 

Safety  Centrifuge.     (Cover  cannot  be  opened  as  long  as  centrifuge  is  in  motion.) 


208  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

Emery  Wheels,  Grindstones,  Polishers,  Buffers,  Etc.  Emery 
and  other  wheels  used  for  grinding  and  polishing  are  principally 
guarded  by  iron  and  steel  covers  which  leave  only  a  small  space 
for  the  actual  operation,  and  cover  all  the  rest  of  the  wheel,  so  that 
in  case  of  bursting  of  the  wheel,  injury  to  the  operator  and  to  those 
in  the  proximity  of  the  machine  is  prevented.  Much  of  the  safety 
of  a  grinding  wheel  depends  upon  the  material  of  which  it  is  made, 
upon  the  character  of  its  mounting,  upon  the  proper  oiling  of  its 
bearings,  and  upon  a  moderate  speed  which  it  should  not  exceed. 

Saws.  There  are  many  types,  kinds  and  sizes  of  saws,  most 
of  which  are  used  in  the  wood  industry.  The  saws  are  named 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Splitter  Adjusted  to  Large  Saw. 

according  to  their  shape  and  functions:  such  as  circular,  band, 
rip,  swing,  equalizer,  etc. 

The  dangerous  part  of  all  saws  is  the  sharp  cutting  edge  which 
may  come  in  contact  with  the  hand  or  part  of  the  body  of  the  opera- 
tor. Accidents  occur  through  the  slipping  of  the  hand  which  feeds 
the  object  to  be  sawed,  through  attempting  to  clean  the  saw  while 
in  motion,  by  the  jumping  back  of  the  wood,  by  reaching  the  arm 
over  the  saw,  by  the  under  part  of  the  saw  coming  in  contact  with 
part  of  the  body,  etc.  Circular  saws  are  more  dangerous  than 
others,  although  there  is  hardly  a  saw  which  is  not  dangerous. 

The  general  methods  of  preventing  accidents  due  to  saws  do 
not  differ  much  from  those  adopted  in  operating  other  machinery. 
These  methods  may  be  summarized  as  follows:  (1)  secure 
footing  for  the  operator  to  avoid  slipping  or  falling  on  the  saw; 
(2)  a  properly  constructed  working  device  to  stop  the  running 
saw  immediately  either  by  throwing  off  the  belt  on  a  pulley  or  by 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


209 


other  means;  (3)  proper  care  in  feeding  the  wood  to  be  sawed;  (4) 
the  use  of  a  guide  or  push-stick  in  feeding  so  as  to  prevent  the  hand 
from  reaching  the  saw;  (5)  the  wearing  by  the  operator  of  suitable 
clothes;  (6)  the  stoppage  of  outdoor  sawing  in  very  cold  weather, 


Courtesy  Lockhart-Jonea  Co.,  Inc.,  Buffalo.  N.  Y. 

Circular  Saw  Guard:  Closed  Front  Hood. 

as  the  hands  then  become  numb  and  accidents  are  more  liable  to 
occur;  (7)  the  appointing  of  a  worker  (called  an  "  off-bearer  ")  to 
take  care  of  the  finished  material  behind  circular  saws.  The  off- 
bearers  must  not  use  their  hands  for  withdrawing  the  sawed  wood, 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Combination  of  Splitter  with  Light  and  Shallow  Hood  Protection  for  Top  of  Saw. 

but  should  use  hooks  or  other  tools;  (8)  proper  inspection  and  fre- 
quent periodical  tests  of  the  saws  so  as  to  insure  their  proper  con- 
dition; (9)  frequent  oiling  and  setting  to  prevent  the  saw  from 
wobbling;  (10)  keeping  the  saws  well  sharpened  and  their  speed 
regulated. 


210 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


One   of   the   indispensable   safeguards   of   circular   saws   is   the 
splitter.     A  splitter  is  a  metal  disc  or  arc  that  is  firmly  attached 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Splitter  Guard  for  Circular  Saw. 

Hood  is  adjustable  and  hinged  so  as  to  be  always  close  down  over  saw,  except  when  raised 
by  material  coming  in  contact  with  the  split  finger  arrangement  in  front. 

behind  a  circular  saw,  and  serves  to  spread  the  board  or  slab  away 
from  the  log  or  plank  from  which  it  is  being  sawed,  so  that  the  saw 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Circular  Saw  Guard. 

Combination  of  splitter  with  a  hood-like  protection  for  top  of  the  saw.     Dog  attached 
to  splitter  to  aid  in  holding  wood  down. 

runs  freely  and  the  wood  is  prevented  from  pinching.  The  use 
of  a  splitter  does  away  with  the  necessity  for  the  operator  to  reach 
over  the  saw,  or  an  off-bearer  to  try  to  catch  hold  of  the  board, 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


211 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 


Wire  Hood  Guard  Supported  by  Bracket  on  Pedestal  Curved  to  Permit  Cross- 
cutting  or  Dadoing. 


and  also  prevents*  pinching  and  jumping  back  of  caught  pieces. 
Splitters  should  be  made  of  the  best  steel,  smooth  and  securely 
fastened.  They  are  usually  made 
curved  and  should  be  properly  ad- 
justed to  be  in  exact  alignment  with 
the  saw  and  close  behind  it.  German 
regulations  of  the  Woodworking 
Trade  Association  give  detailed  and 
exact  dimensions  in  millimeters  for 
the  location  and  position  of  the  split- 
ter, its  size,  height,  etc. 

A  second  very  important  part  in 
the  safeguarding  of  saws  which  is,  as 
a  rule,  applicable  to  all  kinds  and 
types  of  saws,  is  a  cover  or  hood, 
usually  made  of  wood,  or  metal,  or 
wire  mesh,  which  covers  all  the  parts 
of  the  saw  whether  above  or  below 
the  table,  which  are  not  actually 
necessary  for  the  operation  of  the 
saw,  and  should  also  cover  the 


Museum  of  Safety,  Chartottenburg, 
Berlin. 


Saw  Provided  with  Iron  Safety 
Cover  and  Feeder;  Cover 
not  Connected  with  Feeder; 
so  Arranged  as  to  Allow  ^In- 
covering  of  Saw  only  so 
much  as  is  Absolutely 
Needed. 


212  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

whole  saw  when  it  is  not  in  use.  These  covers  are  made  in 
different  shapes  and  designs  according  to  the  character  of  the  saw 
which  they  are  to  protect.  They  should  always  be  properly  fast- 
ened so  that  their  use  is  not  within  the  option  of  the  worker  and 
should  always  be  in  position.  Of  course,  these  covers  must  not 
interfere  with  the  proper  feeding  of  the  wood.  Some  of  these 
covers  in  circular  saws  may  be  attached  to  splitters  or  they 
may  be  hung  from  above.  The  accompanying  illustrations 
show  types  of  hoods  and  covers  adaptable  to  various  kinds 
of  saws  and  are  explained  in  the  caption  under  each  illustra- 
tion. 

Wherever  it  is  possible  to  adopt  feeding  tables  so  as  to  obviate 
the  necessity  of  a  direct  feeding  by  hand,  it  should  be  done;  and  this 
is  possible  in  a  great  many  cases  and  with  a  variety  of  saws.  Other 
types  of  saws  which  are  less  dangerous  than  the  circular  saw  also 
need  to  be  protected.  Some  of  the  methods  of  protection  are  shown 
in  the  illustrations. 


VII 

GENERAL  METHODS  OF  ACCIDENT  PREVENTION  IN  SPECIAL 

INDUSTRIES 

Besides  the  dangers  from  accidents  in  factories  due  to  the  causes 
previously  discussed,  there  are  in  each  and  every  industry  some 
special  danger  points  which  are  peculiar  to  that  industry  alone. 
The  grouping  of  industries  differs,  but  there  are  general  groups 
such  as  the  metal  trade,  wood  industry,  textile  trade,  and  che- 
mical industry,  which  are  treated  as  industrial  units  in  every 
country. 

The  rate  and  character  of  the  accidents  differ  in  each  of  these 
groups.  The  accident  rate  per  thousand  employes  in  England  is 

21.6  in  the  metal  industry,  and  only  6  for  the  textile  industry;  while 
it  is  21.7  in  the  wood  industry,  8.26  in  the  chemical  industry  and 

12.7  for  all  industries.     This  refers  only  to  accidents  caused  by  cer- 
tain specified  dangerous  appliances  and  reported  by  the  certifying 
surgeons.     The  general  rate  of  accidents  other  than  those  reported 
by  the  certifying  surgeons  is  much  larger. 

German  statistics  give  only  accidents  involving  disablement 
lasting  longer  than  thirteen  weeks;  and,  according  to  the  German 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


213 


statistics,  the  wood  industry  shows  the  largest  rate  of  accidents 
(12.28  per  thousand  employes),  with  a  general  rate  of  9.44  per 
thousand  in  all  industries,  3  per  thousand  in  the  textile  industry, 
7.73  per  thousand  in  the  metal  industry,  and  9.88  per  thousand  in 
the  chemical  industry.  New  York  State  statistics,  as  far  as  they 
can  be  obtained  for  1910,  show  a  rate  per  thousand  of  25.2  in  all 
industries  and  142  per  thousand  in  the  chemical  industry.  The 
figures  for  New  York  State  are  disproportionately  large  because 
they  include  trivial  as  well  as  serious  accidents. 

Without  going  into  details  of  the  special  processes  in  each  of  the 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Pinion  and  Gear  of  Tumbling  Barrel  Protected  by  Sheet  Metal  Guard. 


several  industries,  certain  general  methods  of  accident  prevention 
will  be  briefly  discussed  here. 

The  Metal  Industry.  The  metal  industry,  in  which  metal  is 
smelted  and  cast  and  metal  articles  manufactured,  shows  a  large 
number  of  accidents,  as  is  proved  by  various  state  reports. 
There  are  many  danger  points  in  this  industry,  some  of  which  have 
already  been  discussed.  The  more  serious  accidents  occurring  in 
steel  plants  are  due  to  transportation  and  to  certain  types  of  machines, 
which  have  been  discussed  above.  During  the  process  of  smelting 
and  casting,  injuries  may  be  caused  by  sparks,  splashes  of  molten 
metal,  slipping  near  red  hot  rails,  etc.  According  to  figures  cited 
by  the  'Wisconsin  Industrial  Commission,  the  records  of  that 
state  show  that  in  1912  "311  accidents  were  reported  in  which 


214  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

men  were  disabled  for  more  than  seven  days  because  of  serious  burns 
from  molten  metal.  In  all,  a  total  of  5,700  working  days  were  lost 
by  molders  and  molders'  helpers  due  to  this  one  cause.  In  one 
plant  alone  nearly  800  days  were  lost,  which  amounts  to  about  one 
day  during  the  year  for  every  employe.  Of  the  311  accidents 
reported,  62  or  20  per  cent  occurred  while  metal  was  being  poured 
into  molds,  53  or  17  per  cent  while  molten  lead  was  being  carried  in 
hand  ladles;  32  or  11  per  cent  because  of  stumbling  in  obstructed 
passageways;  30  or  10  per  cent  while  ladles  were  being  filled  at  the 
cupola.  Metal  explosions  caused  19  accidents;  18  were  caused  by 
metal  running  out  of  molds;  in  12  cases  the  ladle  was  defective 
and  the  hot  metal  broke  through.  Other  accidents  were  due  to 
various  causes.  Men  carrying  ladles  bumped  each  other;  on  tipping 
the  cupola  sparks  of  metal  burned  men  standing  near;  ladles  fell 
from  tongs,  splashing  the  contents  in  all  directions;  ladle  trucks 
jumped  the  tracks,  tipping  over  and  spilling  the  metal,  etc.  In  70 
per  cent  of  these  accidents,  the  injured  persons  had  one  or  both  feet 
seriously  burned;  43  cases  resulted  in  injured  eyes,  one  of  which 
caused  permanent  impairment  of  sight;  19  cases  resulted  in  burns 
to  the  legs  and  26  in  burns  to  other  parts  of  the  body."  * 

The  above  indicates  some  of  the  causes  of  accidents  in  metal 
shops  resulting  in  burns.  Besides  burns,  other  injuries  frequently 
occurring  in  metal  shops  are  due  to  heavy  metal  objects  falling 
on  the  feet  and  other  parts  of  the  body,  and  to  gases  and  fumes 
engendered  during  the  process  of  smelting  and  pouring,  where  no 
methods  are  employed  to  remove  them  from  the  foundry.  A 
recent  investigation  of  foundry  workers  demonstrated  that  they 
are  subject  to  many  diseases,  especially  of  the  respiratory  organs, 
caused  by  the  extreme  temperature  to  which  they  are  exposed,  and 
to  the  general  lack  of  sanitation  in  ordinary  foundries. 

The  New  York  State  Factory  Commission,  in  its  investigation 
in  New  York  State,  found  that  industrial  insurance  statistics  show 
an  excessive  mortality  rate  from  consumption  among  foundry 
workers,  which  becomes  marked  between  the  ages  of  twenty-five 
and  thirty-four,  a  time  when  the  workers  are  in  the  very  prime  of 
life.  Among  the  recommendations  of  the  Commission  were  the 
following;  that  all  foundries  should  be  properly  lighted  during 
working  hours;  that  gangways  should  be  so  constructed  and  main- 
tained as  to  make  their  use  reasonably  safe,  and  that  such  gang- 
ways should  not  be  obstructed  in  any  way;  and  that  flasks, 

*  Bulletin  Industrial  Commission  of  Wisconsin,  Vol.  II,  No.  8,  p.  183. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  215 

molding  machines,  ladles,  cranes  and  apparatus  for  transporting 
molten  metal  in  foundries  should  be  maintained  in  proper  con- 
dition and  repair.  The  Commission  also  recommended  provisions 
for  washing  facilities,  for  toilet  accommodations  and  recommended 
the  prohibition  of  the  employment  of  women  in  core  rooms,  where 
such  rooms  were  not  separated  from  the  ovens  by  solid  partitions. 
There  are,  of  course,  many  excellently  constructed  and  model 
foundries  throughout  the  country. 

The  prevention  of  accidents  from  burns  is  accomplished  by  pro- 
viding sufficient  light,  by  having  the  employes  properly  clothed  and 
supplied  with  stout  congress  shoes  or  special  shoes  manufactured  for 
foundry  workers;  by  protecting  the  eyes  of  the  workers  from  glare, 
sparks  and  splashes  with  suitable  goggles  and  glasses;  by  having 
the  hand  ladles  equipped  with  hand  shields;  by  the  provision  of 
tongs  and  better  methods  of  handling  and  carrying  molten  metal 
in  pots,  etc.;  by  having  all  gangways  in  the  foundry  free  from 
obstructions;  and  by  a  system  of  supervision  and  inspection  that 
insures  compliance  with  all  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
shop. 

The  Wood  Industry.  Accidents  occurring  in  the  wood  industry 
are  due  to  the  use  of  sharp  cutting  knives,  saws,  etc.,  which  often 
come  in  contact  with  the  hands  of  the  workers,  injuring  them  more 
or  less  severely.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  dangers  of  saws 
and  the  methods  of  safeguarding  them.  Perhaps  the  next  most 
dangerous  machines  in  the  wood  industry  are  the  "  jointers  "  or 
"  buzz  planers."  As  the  Bulletin  of  the  Industrial  Commission  of 
Wisconsin  says: 

"  Of  all  the  hazards  of  the  wood- working  industry,  none  is  so 
great  as  the  old-fashioned  square-head  jointer  or  buzz  planer.  The 
annual  harvest  of  fingers  and  hands  in  this  state  alone  is  appalling. 
Four  out  of  every  one  hundred  accidents  in  this  industry  occur  on 
jointers.  No  other  machine  on  which  any  number  of  accidents 
,  occurred — with  the  exception  of  cornshredders  and  feed  cutters — 
:  has  caused  so  many  permanent  disabilities  in  proportion  to  the  num- 
ber of  accidents.  Of  the  77  accidents  reported,  44,  or  57  per  cent, 
resulted  in  the  loss  of  one  or  more  fingers.  In  one  case  the  operator 
had  his  entire  hand  removed.  In  all,  a  total  of  71  fingers  or  parts 
of  fingers,  and  one  hand,  were  cut  off  by  these  machines.  In  four 
cases  four  fingers  were  cut  off;  in  two  cases,  three  fingers;  in  eleven 
cases,  two  fingers,  and  in  twenty-seven  cases,  one  finger. 

"  All  but  two  of  these  accidents  occurred  on  the  square-headed 
jointer.  In  the  two  instances  reported,  in  which  the  machines 
were  equipped  with  safety  cylinder  heads,  the  injured  person  merely 


216 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


suffered  a  slight  abrasion  at  the  tips  of  his  fingers.     Germany  has 
long  since  prohibited  the  use  of  this  old  type  of  '  head.'  ' 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 
Old  Style  Square  Buzz  Planer 

(Showing  the  position  the  hand  is  liable  to   get 
into,  and  the  almost  certain  consequences.) 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co 

Safety  Cylinder  for  Buzz  Planer. 

Presents  a   regular  surface    and    prevents 
fingers  from  getting  down  below  the  table  top  i 
thereby  being  cut  off  or  severely  damaged. 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Done  with  Square  Cylinder  Planer. 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co. 

Done  with  Circular  Cylinder  Planer. 


The  illustrations  on  this  page  show  an  old  style  square  head,  a 
safety  circular  cylinder  and  the  character  of  the  injuries  caused 
by  the  square-head  as  compared  with  those  caused  by  the  circular 
cylinders.  The  danger  of  the  old  style  square-head,  as  one  authority 
says,  lies  in  the  fact  that: 

*  Bulletin  of  Industrial  Commission  of  Wisconsin,  Vol.  II,  No.  4,  February  20,  1913. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  217 

"  Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  operator  is  dependent 
wholly  upon  his  hands  for  control  of  his  work.  With  them  he  pushes 
the  stock  over  the  knives  and  also  keeps  it  firmly  pressed  to  the 
tables  so  as  to  secure  even  cut.  They  are  therefore  brought  fre- 
quently in  close  proximity  to  the  danger  point,  the  gap  between  the 
two  tables  in  which  the  knife  head  is  rapidly  revolving.  Any  one 
of  a  number  of  causes  is  apt  to  throw  a  hand  off  the  material  and 
into  the  knives.  A  knot  or  change  in  grain  may  be  struck,  too 
heavy  a  cut  may  be  taken,  a  piece  of  stock  may  be  too  small  for 
such  planing,  or  the  operator  may  be  doing  his  work  carelessly. 


Courtesy  Lockhart-Hodge  Co.,  Inc.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Double  Cut-off  Saw  Guard. 

Whatever  the  cause,  the  result  is  pretty  sure  to  be  a  serious  injury 
unless  everything  possible  has  been  done  to  guard  the  machine. 
Some  of  the  causes  of  accidents  can  be  foreseen  by  the  ope- 
rator and  avoided;  but  others  are  beyond  his  control  and  on  both 
accounts  the  jointer  requires  as  complete  protection  as  can  be  given 
it."  * 

The  safety  cylinder  is  a  most  effective  means  for  preventing 
accidents.  The  use  of  such  a  cylinder  also  prevents  the  kicking 
back  of  the  material  which  is  being  planed.  The  guards  which  are 

*  Van  Schaack:  Wood- Working  Safeguards,  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Company,  p.  101. 


218 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


being  used  on  saws  are  illustrated  in  the   accompanying   figures. 
Some  of  these  guards  are  adjusted  vertically  and  horizontally  and 


Courtesy  Lockhart-Jones  Co.,  Inc.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
Band  Saw  Guard. 


can  be  swung  to  one  side.  A  number  of  these  guards  may  be  made 
by  a  mechanic  within  the  shop,  and  most  of  them  are  effective  in 
the  prevention  of  accidents.  There  are  several  other  machines  in 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


219 


use  in  the  wood  industry,  such  as  shapers,  sanders,  lathes,  planers, 
etc.,   all   of  which   have  serious  danger  points.     They  should  be 


Courtesy  Aetna  Liie  Insurance  Co. 

Rip  Saw  Guard. 

When  there  is  no  piece  being  sawed,  guard  hangs  down  completely  covering  saw.  When 
board  is  started,  guard  rises  up  at  (A)  as  shown  in  (1),  rising  against  springs  (CC)  and  turning 
on  the  joints  (DD)  and  (EE). 

equipped  with  guards  or  the  workers  should  wear  some  kind  of 
protectors  in  order  to  prevent  contact  with  the  knives. 


Courtesy  Aetna  Life  Jusurance  Co. 


German  Finger  Guard, 

Iron  plate  strips  attached  to  strip  extending  along  top  of  saw  and  oblique  to  the  sawing 
direction.  Strips  lifted  one  by  one  by  material  ted  and  fall  back  into  place  after  material  has 
passed  by. 


The    Chemical   Industry.     A   report   of   the   New   York   State 
factory  commission  for  1913  gives  the  following  summary  of   the 


220 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


investigations    conducted    in    the    chemical    industry    under   my 
direction: 

"  The  workers  in  the  chemical  trades  are  subject  to  dangers 
peculiar  to  those  industries.  Chief  among  these  are  poisonous 
substances  handled  by  the  workers  throughout  the  work-day;  open 
and  unfenced  vats  or  pans  containing  acids  or  hot  and  corrosive 


Hartmann's  Unfallverhutungstechnit. 

Safe  Method  of  Filling  Acid  Bottles. 


liquids;  abnormal  physical  conditions  such  as  great  heat  or  coldr 
variable  atmospheric  pressure  and  humidity;  dangerous  processes, 
etc.  Due  to  the  dangers  peculiar  to  the  chemical  trades,  laws  have 
been  passed  in  the  various  European  countries  as  well  as  in  some 
of  the  states  of  the  United  States  regulating  the  chemical  indus- 
tries."8 

Director*  2d  ReP°rt  of  New  York  Sta*e  Factory  Investigating  Commission, 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  221 

The  number  of  fatal  and  permanent  injuries  per  thousand  work- 
ers in  the  chemical  trades  in  New  York  State  exceeds  by  far  the 
number  in  England,  Germany  and  France.  A  large  number  of  the 
accidents  can  be  eliminated  by  taking  proper  precautions;  such  as 
fencing  of  vats  and  pans,  and  carrying  off  dust  and  fumes. 

The  prevention  of  accidents  due  to  burns  caused  by  the  action 
of  acids  and  alkalies  is  possible  if  the  workers  wear  appropriate 
overalls,  shoes,  gloves,  caps  and  goggles,  and  exercise  care  in  cart- 


Belglan  Labor  Report,  1912. 
(a)  Safety  Apparatus  for  Emptying  Acid  Bottles. 


ing,  lifting  and  carrying  carboys,  flasks,  etc.,  and  in  handling  danger- 
ous materials. 

Serious  and  painful  accidents  result  from  falling  into  vats,  pans, 
and  caldrons,  filled  with  chemicals  and  hot  and  dangerous  liquids. 
It  is  astonishing  to  note  that  in  some  large  factories  where  other- 
wise humane  conditions  prevail,  it  is  not  thought  necessary  to  safe- 
guard vats  filled  with  dangerous  chemicals.  Thus,  I  found  in  an 
otherwise  well-managed  establishment,  pots  filled  with  caustic 


222  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

potash,  every  spurt  of  which  causes  bad  burns,  entirely  unpro- 
tected, with  workmen  standing  on  top  of  these  slippery  vats,  ladling 
out  the  boiling  contents  without  any  precaution  taken  for  their 
safety.  Indeed,  I  was  told  that  two  men  had  fallen  into  these 
caustic  pots,  instantly  losing  their  lives.  The  photograph  on  page 
227  which  I  had  taken  while  inspecting  factories  in  which 


Belgian  Labor  Report,  1912. 
(6)  Apparatus  in  Use. 

(Note:     Not  entirely  safe;  does  not  prevent  spurting  of  acids  into  face.) 

these  caustic  pots  were  used,  shows  the  dangerous  conditions 
existing. 

There  are  three  methods  by  which  vats,  pans,  and  caldrons 
may  be  effectively  safeguarded:  (1)  by  raising  them  above  the  floor 
to  a  height  sufficiently  great  so  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  a  person 
to  fall  into  them;  (2)  by  covering  the  vats  with  adjustable  covers 
either  of  solid  metal,  wire  mesh  or  other  material;  and  (3)  by  railing 
or  fencing  them  around  so  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  a  person  to 
fall  into  them. 

The  Textile  Industry.  The  number  of  accidents  occurring  to 
workers  in  the  textile  trade  is  large  and  is  due  to  the  complexity 


FACTOEY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


223 


Soap  Vat  with  Safety  Grille: 


Annual  Report  of  the  Belgian  Labor  Office,  1912. 

Grille  lifted  for  the  introduction  of  materials. 


Annual  Report  of  the  Belgian  Labor  Office,  1912. 

Same  as  above:     Grille  closed  to  prevent  workman  from  falling  in  during  the 

mixing. 


224 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


of  the  machinery  as  well  as  to  the  character  of  the  persons,  many  of 
them  women  or  minors,  who  operate  the  machines.  A  great  many 
of  the  accidents  are  due  to  general  causes  as  well  as  to  the  machines, 
transmission  apparatus  and  other  processes  in  the  establishment, 
the  dangers  of  which  have  already  been  discussed. 

Many  of  the  accidents  occurring  in  the  textile  industry  may  be 
prevented  by  proper  precautions  and  by  the  installation  of  appro- 


A  Safeguarded  Roving  Machine. 


priate  safeguards.  An  interesting  experiment  was  made  by  the 
English  factory  inspection  department  in  calling  special  conferences 
of  employers,  operatives  and  inspectors  to  discuss  the  safeguards  to 
be  employed  in  special  industries  and  to  agree  upon  rules  and 
regulations  to  be  adopted.  Several  conferences  have  been  held  and 
reports  issued  covering  conferences  between  employers,  operatives 
and  inspectors,  regarding  fencing  of  machinery  and  other  safeguards 


FACTOEY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


225 


226 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


in  the  cotton  spinning  mills,  in  cotton  weaving  sheds  and  in  woolen 
and  worsted  mills. 

As  an  example  of  the  results  of  such  conferences,  I  believe  it  will 


be  of  interest  to  insert  here  the  rules  and  regulations  agreed  upon  at 
the  conference  on  cotton  weaving  factories,  since  they  deal  with 
dangers  and  conditions  which  exist  in  the  United  States  as  well. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY 


227 


Courtesy  Ne,v  York  State  Factory  Commission. 

Caustic  Pots  which  Workers  Sometimes  fall  into. 


228 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Courtesy  Joseph  Bancroft  &  Sons  Co.,  Wilmington,  DeL 
Calender  Pulley  and  Nip  Guards. 


FACTORY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  229 

NOTES  OF  AGREEMENT  BETWEEN  EMPLOYERS,  OPERATIVES 
AND  INSPECTORS  CONCERNING  SAFEGUARDS  IN  COTTON 
WEAVING  FACTORIES. 

Fencing  and  Safeguards. 

I.  General  Provisions: 

(a)  On  new  machinery  all  projecting  set-screws  on  con- 
tinuously revolving  parts  shall  either  be  countersunk 
or  be  otherwise  efficiently  protected.  Projecting 
set-screws  on  existing  machinery  shall  be  replaced 
wherever  practicable  by  grub-screws.  Where  pro- 
jecting set-screws  are  placed  inside  box  pulleys, 
they  shall  be  deemed  to  be  efficiently  fenced. 

(6)  On  new  machinery  the  following  wheels  shall  be  plated : 

(1)  Balance  wheels  on  looms;  these  to  be  without 

perforations  except  near  the  rim  of  the  wheel. 

(2)  Flywheels  on  sectional  warping  machines,  where 

the  wheel  is  on  the  outside  of  machine. 

(c)  Ladders,  other  than  step-ladders,  shall  be  fitted  with 

hooks  or  other  non-skid  device. 

(d)  Heavy  overhead  main  driving  belts  or  ropes  shall  be 

guarded  underneath  in  all  cases  where  there  is 
liability  of  persons  having  to  pass  under  them. 
It  is  agreed  that  there  may  be  instances  where  the 
principle  of  this  rule  should  be  applied  to  counter- 
driving  belts. 

(e)  Metal  fasteners  shall  not  be  used  for  overhead  driving 

unless  the  belt  itself  be  securely  fenced — provided 
that  this  rule  shall  not  apply  to  metal  fasteners  con- 
sisting of  a  continuous  wire  stitching  held  together 
by  a  peg,  other  than  a  metal  peg. 

(/)  Any  woman  or  girl  working  about  machinery  shall 
have  her  hair  put  up,  or  otherwise  confined  in  a 
net. 

(0)  A  supply  of  sterilized  dressings  shall  be  kept  available 

for  first  aid  for  any  operative  who  receives  a  cut 
or  wound. 

(K)  Floors,  passages,  and  stairways  are  to  be  kept  in  good 
repair,  and  free  from  accumulations  of  dirt  or 
size.  Sand  shall  be  provided  for  use  on  slippery 
floors. 

II.  Fencing  of  Machinery  and  Other  Safeguards : 

Winding  Frames.     Fencing  shall  be  provided  for: 

(1)  Traverse   motion   and   mangle   motion  wheels,    when 

on  the  outside  of  the  frame;  also  when  inside  the 
frame,  if  the  frame  has  an  open  end  and  the  wheels 
are  placed  near  that  end. 


230  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

(2)  Where  there  is  a  double  tin  roller,  the  toothed  wheels 

and  the  rope  drive  at  the  end  of  the  rollers. 

(3)  Bevel  wheels  driving  spindles  of  " Jumbo  "  cop  winding 

frames. 
Warping  Machines.  All  bevel  wheels,  and  also  tooth  and 

pinion    wheels    on    winding-on    machines    shall    be 

fenced. 
Size  Becks.  The  following  shall  be  fenced : 

(1)  Bevel  wheels  working  dashers,   unless  otherwise  safe 

.    by  position. 

(2)  Spur  wheels  at  side  of  beck  (if  any). 

(3)  Cogs  on  boiling  pan,   and  also  the  shaft   connected 

with  the  same,  if  the  shaft  is  on  the  floor  level — 
unless  these  be  otherwise  safe  by  position. 

Taping  Machines : 

(a)  On  new  machines  the  distance  between  the  periphery 
of  the  smaller  and  larger  cylinders  shall  not  be  less 
than  six  inches. 

(6)  The  following  shall  be  fenced: 

(1)  Set-screws  and  bevel  wheels  on  side  shaft. 

(2)  Measuring  motion  wheels,  unless  safe  by  posi- 

tion. 

(3)  Bevel    wheels    and    upright    shaft    for    driving 

colored  or  top  box  (to  be  encased) . 

(4)  Speed  change  wheels. 

(5)  Gears  working  cylinder  at  end  of    dry  taping 

machines. 
Looms : 

(1)  Shuttle   guards   to   be   provided   in   all    cases.     Rod 

guards  shall  be  fixed  as  low  as  possible.  A  space 
of  not  less  than  five-eighths  of  an  inch  must  be  left 
between  the  temple  and  the  guard,  provided  that 
this  part  of  this  rule  shall  not  apply  to  velvet  looms 
or  to  looms  of  60-inch  reed  space  and  over.  Later- 
ally the  guard  shall  extend  to  at  least  half  the 
shuttle's  length  from  the  spindle  stud  bolt  on  over- 
pick  looms,  or  the  trash  plate  on  underpick  looms. 

(2)  Except  where  the  hammer  head  always  extends  over 

the  breast  beam,  there  shall  be  a  space  of  not  less 
than  three-quarters  of  an  inch  between  the  hammer 
head  and  the  beam. 

(3)  Duck-bills  on  all  loose  reed  looms  shall  be  protected 

both  above  and  below,  unless  they  are  of  such 
construction,  or  in  such  a  position  as  to  be  equally 
safe  as  if  they  were  protected. 

(4)  Tappet,  twill  motion  and  barrel  motion  wheels  on  all 

looms,  whether  placed  underneath  or  at  the  side  of 
looms,  shall  be  fenced,  unless  they  are  safe  by 


FACTOEY  ACCIDENTS  AND  SAFETY  231 

position  behind  the  balance  wheel,  with  the  ingather 
ing  point  on  the  side  next  the  slay. 

(5)  Overhead  driving  shaft  on  jacquard  looms  shall  be  fenced 

(6)  On  new  looms  finger-room  (one  inch)  shall  be  provided 

between  the  set-screws  on  the  heald  shaft  and  the 

top  of  the  loom. 

Note:  Agreed  to  for  old  looms,  also,  where  space 
can  be  provided  by  the  adjustment  of  bracket 
and  where  the  distance  between  the  healds  and  the 
slay  suffices. 

(7)  There  shall  be  a  space  of  not  less  than  one  inch  between 

the  connecting  rods  driving  the  dobby  and  the 
framework  of  the  loom,  and  between  the  stay 
and  the  picking-stick  a  space  of  not  less  than  two 
inches. 

(8)  No  weight  shall  be  suspended  from  the  weight  rope, 

or  hooked  on  to  the  top  of  another  weight,  and 
levers  shall  not  be  allowed  to  project  in  such  a  way 
as  to  obstruct  the  alley. 
This  rule  shall  only  be  deemed  to  apply  to  the  bottom 

beam. 
Plaiting  Machines: 

The  spur  wheels  driving  the  bottom  shaft  shall  be  fenced. 

III.  Spacing  of  Looms: 

In  new  sheds  there  shall  be  at  the  backs  of  the  looms  a  space 
of  at  least  a  foot  between  the  flanges  of  the  beams,  and 
in  the  alleys  a  space  of  not  less  than  2  feet  6  inches  between 
slay  and  slay.  Provided  that  in  new  sheds  with  looms 
over  72  inches  in  width,  in  which  overhead  trolleys  for 
the  beams  are  not  provided,  there  shall  be  a  space  of  15 
inches  left  between  the  flanges  of  the  beams. 

IV.  Cleaning  Machinery: 

Women,  young  persons,  and  children  shall  not  clean  under- 
neath any  loom  while  it  is  in  motion. 

V.  Lifting  of  Heavy  Weights: 

(1)  Women,    young   persons,    and   children   shall   not   be 

employed  to  lift,  carry  or  move  anything  so  heavy 
as  to  be  likely  to  cause  injury'  to  them. 

(2)  Women,  young    persons,  and  children  shall  not  assist 

the  overlooker  in  lifting  beams  into  the  looms. 

VI.  Lighting  of  Dark  Passages  and  Stairways: 

Passages  and  staircases  shall  be  effectively  lighted  either 
by  natural  or  artificial  means. 


CHAPTER  V 
LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION   IN   FACTORIES 

The  Importance  of  Light  in  Factories.  Light  is  an  essential  work- 
ing condition  in  all  industrial  establishments  and  is  also  of  para- 
mount influence  in  the  preservation  of  the  health  of  the  workers. 
There  is  no  condition  within  industrial  establishments  to  which  so 
little  attention  is  given  as  proper  lighting  and  illumination. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  in  many  of  the  factories  in  the  United 
States.  A  prominent  investigator  who  had  extensive  opportunities 
to  make  observations  of  industrial  establishments  in  Europe  as 
well  as  in  America,  states:  "  I  have  seen  so  many  mills  and  other 
works  miserably  lighted  that  bad  light  is  the  most  conspicuous  and 
general  defect  of  American  factory  premises.  Germany  and  England 
are  vastly  more  advanced  in  this  respect  than  America."* 

My  own  investigations  for  the  New  York  State  Factory  Com- 
mission support  this  view.  In  these  investigations  it  was  found  that 
36.7  per  cent  of  the  laundries  inspected,  49.2  per  cent  of  the  candy 
factories,  48.4  per  cent  of  the  printing  places,  50  per  cent  of  the  ice 
cream  plants  and  64.8  per  cent  of  the  chemical  establishments  were 
inadequately  lighted.  There  was  hardly  a  trade  investigated 
without  finding  a  large  number  of  inadequately  lighted  establish- 
ments. 

According  to  another  report,  one-third  of  the  shops  in  the  cloak 
and  suit  industry  of  New  York  City  were  found  to  be  inadequately 
lighted  and  artificial  illumination  was  needed  during  the  day.f 
Inadequate  and  defective  light  is  also  complained  of  in  practically 
every  report  of  the  factory  inspectors  in  the  different  states. 

An  inspection  of  a  large  number  of  establishments  in  European 
countries  has  convinced  me  that  light  conditions-  are  very  much 
superior  in  these  countries  than  in  the  United  States.  However,  it 
would  be  wrong  to  state  that  lighting  conditions  in  most  of  the 
factories  abroad  are  perfect.  The  factory  inspectors  of  England 
frequently  complain  of  the  bad  lighting  of  factories,  a  fact  which  led 

*  Arthur  Shad  well:  Industrial  Efficiency,  Vol.  Il,  p.  3. 
t  First  Report  of  The  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control. 

232 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES  233 

the  English  factory  department  to  make  a  special  report  on  the 
illumination  of  factories  and  workshops,  which  showed  that  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  room  for  improvement.  The  same  complaint 
comes  from  the  factory  inspectors  of  France.  A  prominent  authority 
on  the  subject  remarks  that  "  the  shops  in  France  are  lighted  just 
as  much  as  is  absolutely  necessary  for  production,  not  as  much  as  is 
necessary  for  hygienic  purposes;  but  how  many  factories  are  not  even 
provided  with  sufficient  light  for  production  itself?  "  * 

It  is  very  difficult  to  determine  just  what  percentage  of  in- 
dustrial establishments  is  properly  lighted.  As  a  rule,  where 
factories  and  workshops  are  constructed  in  isolated  places,  where 
most  of  the  establishments  are  in  one -story  buildings,  and  where 
there  is  no  congestion,  lighting  conditions  are  much  better. 

What  are  the  consequences  of  defective  lighting  of  industrial 
establishments?  The  consensus  of  opinion  of  all  competent  observers 
and  investigators  is  that  defective  lighting  of  industrial  establish- 
ments has  an  important  bearing  (1)  on  the  cleanliness,  cheerfulness 
and  salubrity  of  the  workplace,  (2)  on  the  efficiency  of  production, 
(3)  on  the  number  and  character  of  accidents  in  industrial  establish- 
ments, (4)  on  the  causation  of  eye  strain,  (5)  on  the  causation  of 
certain  eye  diseases,  and  (6)  on  the  general  impairment  of  the  health 
of  the  workers. 

Cleanliness  in  a  workshop  is  directly  dependent  upon  the  amount 
of  light  within  the  factory.     As  a  rule,  a  dark  shop  is  also  a  dirty 
shop;  a  light  shop  is  usually  a  clean  shop.     Not  only  is  a  well  lighted 
shop  cleaner  but  it  is  also  brighter  and  more  cheerful.     There  isi 
nothing  so  inimical  to  dirt  as  plenty  of  light.     Light,  and  especially  | 
sunlight,  has    a    direct  influence  upon  the  destruction  of  various 
bacterial  organisms,  especially  tubercle  bacilli.     Moreover,  there  is 
a  certain  psychological  effect  of  plenty  of  light  in  a  factory  upon  the 
cheerfulness  and  well-being  of  the  workers. 

As  to  the  increase  of  efficiency  in  production  in  all  well-lighted 
shops,  there  is  the  testimony  of  a  great  many  investigators  that 
improved  illumination  means  "  a  sensible  increase  in  production  and 
an  appreciable  decrease  in  seconds  and  spoilage."  f  R»  Thurston 
Kent  demonstrated  that  good  illumination  has  a  very  important 
bearing  on  the  time  taken  by  an  industrial  process,  t  "  Summer- 
made  cotton  goods  used  to  demand  higher  prices  than  winter  goods, 
their  quality  being  superior  because  of  the  better  lighting  conditions 

*  Hygiene  Industrielle,  Bruardelle.  p.  183. 
[      t  Traveler's  Standard,  Vol.  I,  November,  1913,  p.  287. 

J  Report  quoted  in  Illuminating  Engineer,  London,  No.  9,  September,  1912,  p.  422. 


234  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

under  which  they  were  made.''*  It  is  also  reported  that  "  the 
operatives  prefer  in  some  places  to  work  by  night,  since  by  working 
on  piece-work  they  could  make  more  money  than  in  the  day  time 
because  of  the  better  illumination."  f 

The  relation  of  inadequate  factory  lighting  to  the  occurrence 
of  accidents  has  been  proven  over  and  over  again.  In  a  statement 
issued  by  the  Travelers'  Insurance  Company,  the  following  assertion 
is  made:  "  It  is  generally  estimated  that  approximately  twenty- 
five  per  cent  of  the  avoidable  accidents  are  due  directly  or  indirectly 
to  poor  illumination." 

Many  statements  were  made  before  the  Departmental  Committee 
on  Accidents  to  the  effect  that  "  defective  lighting  is  a  prolific  cause 
of  accidents."  In  a  recent  discussion  (of  the  Illuminating  Section 
of  the  Safety  and  Sanitation  Conference)  the  importance  which 
good  lighting  played  in  securing  safety  was  emphasized  by  a  quota- 
tion from  the  report  on  the  iron  and  steel  industry  prepared  under 
the  direction  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  submitted  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  in  which  a  comparison  of  the  day  and  night 
accident  rates  for  the  six  years  included  between  1905  and  1910 
showed  that  in  the  mechanical  departments  the  night  accidents 
exceeded  those  in  the  day  by  118.3  per  cent,  and  that  the  night 
accidents  in  the  yards  exceeded  those  during  the  day  by  127.6  per 
cent.  As  all  the  conditions  for  night  and  day  work  were  practically 
the  same  excepting  the  illumination,  this  great  increase  in  accidents 
was  ascribed  by  the  Commissioner  to  poor  illumination.  J 

The  International  Harvester  Company  found  that  numerous 
accidents  resulted  from  bad  lighting,  and  hence  a  general  standard 
was  adopted.  For  general  machine-shop  lighting,  J  candle-power 
per  square  foot  of  floor  area  is  the  minimum,  and  in  foundries  where 
smoke  and  vapor  absorb  much  of  the  light,  J  candle-power  per 
square  foot.  Tungsten  lamps  (100  watt)  in  enameled  bowl-shaped 
reflectors  hung  10J  feet  above  the  floor  at  intervals  of  18  feet  give  the 
desired  light.  Wherever  a  more  intense  light  is  needed,  as  for 
example  on  a  machine  tool,  an  8-candle-power  lamp  under  an 
enameled  cone  shade  is  hung  at  the  requisite  angle.  One  of  the 
advantages  to  the  company  has  been  the  reduction  of  defective 
product.  It  is  also  claimed  that  the  number  of  accidents  has 
greatly  decreased.  § 

*  Practical  Considerations  in   Cotton  Mill   Illumination,   National  Association  of  Cotton 
Manufacturers  Transactions,  1912,  p.  285. 

t  Quoted  by  F.  B.  Ray,  Industrial  Engineer,  Vol.  II,  p.  171. 

j  Quoted  by  Lighting 'journal,  Vol  II,  No.  1,  January,  1914,  p.  19. 

§  United  States  Department  ot  Labor  Bulletin  No.  123,  p.  14. 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES  235 

The  relation  of  defective  light  to  eye  strain  has  been  discussed 
by  a  number  of  observers.  Their  reports  state  that  defective 
light  during  work  undoubtedly  causes  eye  strain.  All  prolonged 
work  and  close  application  involving  constant  use  of  the  eyes  cause 
fatigue  of  the  muscles  of  accommodation.  Even  when  work  is 
performed  with  plenty  and  good  light,  the  long  hours  of  labor,  the 
close  application  to  the  work  and  the  concentration  of  the  eyes  of 
the  worker  on  the  material  are  bound  to  cause  fatigue  and  eye  strain. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  where  the  light  is  either  inadequate  or 
improper. 

In  the  report  of  the  medical  factory  inspector  of  the  New  York 
State  labor  department,*  the  inspector  makes  the  following  state- 
ment: 

"  I  have  found  that  a  large  number  of  women  and  young  workers, 
especially  girls,  are  employed  in  basements  and  cellars  where  the 
illumination  throughout  the  entire  day  is  by  artificial  means.  This 
has  an  important  bearing  not  only  upon  the  condition  of  the  eyes 
of  the  worker,  but  also  upon  the  health,  being  a  frequent  cause  of 
ansemia.  I  have  also  observed  that  in  many  instances  where  natural 
light  is  used,  machinery  is  so  placed  as  to  obstruct  this  light,  and 
thus  the  duties  of  the  workers  must  be  performed  in  semi-darkness 
which  increases  the  number  of  accidents  notwithstanding  the 
guards." 

That  eye  strain  is  not  only  harmful  to  the  eyes  but  also  to  the 
general  health  of  workers,  has  been  clearly  proven  by  the  investiga- 
tions of  Dr.  G.  M.  Gould  and  others  who  have  traced  the  headaches, 
ansemia,  backaches  and  the  failing  of  general  health  of  employes 
to  eye  strain  caused  by  defective  light. 

As  to  the  influence  of  bad  lighting  conditions  upon  the  eyesight 
of  workers,  upon  the  causation  of  myopia  and  other  diseases,  there 
is  abundant  evidence  in  the  reports  of  various  investigators.  Ram- 
azzini,  in  1700  A.D.,  remarked  that  many  workers  suffer  from, 
nearsightedness,  especially  those  who  do  delicate  work;  such  as 
type  setters,  watchmakers,  jewelers,  goldsmiths,  embroiderers, 
draughtsmen,  etc.  In  the  investigations  made  by  German  scientists 
it  was  proved  that  certain  workers,  especially  type  setters  and  others, 
suffer  from  a  high  degree  of  myopia. 

According  to  Froelich,  42  per  cent  of  the  type  setters,  according 
to  Cohen,  51  per  cent,  according  to  Overvveg,  48.9  per  cent,  accord- 
ing to  Hazelberg,  48.8  per  cent  of  type  setters  were  myopic.f  Accord- 

*  Tenth  Annual  Report,  1911,  p.  71. 

t  Walter:    Augenkrankheiteu  in  Weyl's  Handbuch  der  Arbeiter-Krankbeiten,  p.  700. 


236 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


ing  to  Overweg,  47.7  per  cent  of  engravers,  according  to  Cohen, 
45  per  cent  of  lithographers  had  myopia.  According  to  Walter, 
75  per  cent  of  weavers  had  the  same  defect.  According  to 
Netolitzky,  house  weavers  and  needle  workers  are  apt  to  have  weak 
eyesight,  myopia  and  cataract. 

Certain  diseases,  such  as  cataract,  nystagmus  and  others  are  due 
either  to  defective  or  too  glaring  light.     Thus,  glass  workers  are 


Courtesy  Royal  Worcester  Corset  Co. 

Window  and  Reflected  Light  from  Walls  and  Ceilings.     Localized  Illumination 

for  Each  Table. 

said  to  suffer  from  cataract.  Formerly  the  injurious  influences  of 
glaring  light  were  ascribed  merely  to  the  influence  of  light  rays; 
now  it  is  stated  that  they  are  due  to  the  presence  of  ultra  violet 
rays.*  Workers  at  white  goods,  bleachers,  engravers,  polishers, 
tinsmiths,  zinc  molders,  glass  workers,  steel  makers,  testers  of 
arc  lamps,  etc.,  who  work  on  materials  reflecting  glaring  light 
very  often  suffer  from  retinitis,  from  other  eye  lesions  and  some- 
times from  the  formation  of  cataracts. 

*  Walter,  p.  6SO. 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES  237 

According  to  Dr.  Court,  nystagmus,  from  which  a  great  many    I 
miners  suffer,  is  due  to  insufficient  light  or  too  much  eye-strain.    I 
Intense  light  causes  dazzling  and  glare  which  injuriously  affects  / 
the  conjunctiva  of  the  eye.     The  physiological  effects  are  fatigue,  / 
strain,  tears,  redness  of  conjunctiva,  stone  blindness,  seeing  red,  I 
ophthalmia7and,  at  times,  cataract.*  \ 

Tf  is  hardly  necessary  to  cite  any  additional  proof  of  the  baneful 
I  influences  of  defective  lighting  in  factories  upon  the  workers  and 
I  their  health  in  order  to  prove  the  contention  that  industrial  establish- 
S  ments  should  be  adequately  and  properly  lighted. 
V,       What  is  adequate  and  proper  light  ?     This  is  an  important  ques- 
tion which,  however,  has  not  as  yet  been  fully  answered.     Almost 
all  industrial  codes  and  labor  laws  contain  a  provision  that  every 
industrial    establishment    must  be  properly   and   suitably   lighted. 
No    definite   standards,    however,  are    set   to   explain   just   what 
suitable  lighting  in  a  factory  means.     To  this  lack  of  standards  of 
lighting  in  factories  is  due  much  of  the  present  defective  lighting  in 
such  establishments.     The  reason  for  the  absence  of  such  standards 
is  that  many  of  the  lighting  and  illuminating  engineers  themselves 
have  not  come  to  definite  conclusions  as  to  the  proper  standards  for 
the  various  conditions  found  in  industrial  establishments. 

Of  course,  it  is  a  matter  of  great  difficulty  to  set  definite  standards 
for  the  conditions  existing  in  industrial  establishments  in  relation 
to  light.  There  are  so  many  factors  which  have  to  be  taken  into 
consideration,  such  as  the  personal  factor,  individual  health  of  the 
operatives,  condition  of  their  eyes  and  eyesight,  the  construction 
of  the  workshop,  its  proximity  to  other  buildings,  the  character 
of  light,  natural  or  artificial,  the  kind  of  work  which  is  being  done, 
the  materials  which  are  worked  with,  the  duration  of  the  work 
and  a  great  number  of  other  factors  too  numerous  to  mention.  It 
is  almost  impossible,  therefore,  to  set  definite  standards  which  would 
be  applicable  to  all  establishments  or  to  all  kinds  of  workshops. 
It  is  necessary  to  take  into  consideration  local  conditions  in  each 
workshop  and  set  a  standard  for  every  industrial  establishment; 
and,  indeed,  for  every  part  of  each  industrial  establishment.  The 
standards  would  also  vary  according  to  the  different  kinds  of  light, 
such  as  daylight,  artificial  (direct,  indirect  and  semi-indirect),  and 
according  to  the  various  kinds  of  artificial  lights,  as  well  as  to  the 
different  kinds  of  work  and  materials  manipulated. 

*kAugenschedigung  durch  Intensieve  Belichtung,  Zeitschrif t  fur  Unfallverhutung,  etc.  p.  61, 


238 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES  239 

The  quantity  and  intensity  of  light  may  be  considered  in  relation 
to  the  special  place  of  work  and  to  the  surface  upon  which  the  work 
is  performed.  The  quantity  of  light  will  depend  upon  the  source 
and  the  kind  of  light  which  is  let  into  the  factory,  and  the  adequacy 
of  light  will  also  depend  upon  the  kind  of  material  upon  which  the 
work  is  performed.  Mr.  Wilson,  who  has  made  the  light  investiga- 
tions for  the  factory  department  of  England,  distinguishes  two  kinds 
of  work,  which  he  names  respectively  inspective  and  detective, 
according  as  the  work  entails  continuous  application  of  the  eye  to 
one  point  or  small  area,  or  consists  merely  in  keeping  general  watch 
over  a  given  process,  actual  labor  being  demanded  only  when  some 
fault  occurs.  "  The  making  up  of  clothing,  handkerchiefs  and  type 
setting,"  he  says  "  belong  to  the  inspective  class;  while  cotton  and 
flax  spinning  and  preparing  belong  to  the  detective  class."  The 
work  of  a  watchmaker,  jeweler,  or  draughtsman  requires  very 
much  more  light  than  the  work  of  clothing  or  any  needle  workers. 
The  work  of  a  hand  type  setter,  for  instance,  may  also  be  divided 
into  several  kinds.  It  requires  more  light  to  decipher  some  of  the 
manuscripts  which  the  type  setters  have  to  set  up,  and  certainly 
much  more  light  than  that  which  is  necessary  on  the  type  stick 
itself.  Proof-reading  may  require  more  light  than  any  of  those 
mentioned. 

The  surface  brightness  or  the  intrinsic  brilliancy  of  a  surface 
receiving  light  will  depend  not  only  upon  the  source  of  the  light 
but  also  upon  the  kind  of  surface.  According  to  Wilson,  in  a  linen 
weaving  shed  the  illumination  intensity  on  brown  cloth  was  found 
to  be  3.4  foot-candles;  while  the  surface  brightness  was  only  1.0 
foot-candle.  This  means  that  the  brightness  of  the  brown  cloth 
illuminated  with  3.4  foot-candles  was  the  same  as  that  of  white 
cloth  illuminated  by  one  foot-candle,  showing  the  difference  in  the 
necessary  intensity  of  light  for  different  colored  materials. 

Illumination  is  usually  measured  by  photometers  and  is  expressed 
in  terms  of  a  unit  of  illumination  intensity  and  known  as  foot- 
candles.  A  foot-candle,  or  as  it  has  been  sometimes  written  a 
candle-foot,  is  the  unit  of  illumination  intensity,  and  is  defined  as 
"  the  direct  illumination  given  by  a  standard  candle  one  foot  from 
the  object  illuminated."*  It  is  very  difficult  to  give  a  popular 
idea  of  this  unit,  but  it  may  perhaps  be  said  that  very  roughly 
one  foot-candle  corresponds  to  the  minimum  illumination  intensity 
which  allows  small  print  to  be  read  for  a  time  without  fatigue, 

*  Bell:  Art  of  Illumination,  p.  5. 


240 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


0.1  foot-candle  corresponds  to  the  minimum  illumination  of  a  well- 
lighted  street  and  0.01  foot-candle  to  that  of  a  badly  lighted  street. 
Cohen  states  that  ordinary  writing  and  reading  need  10  meter- 
candles  (1  foot-candle).  On  cloudy  days  the  daylight  indoors 
varies  from  12  to  19  meter-candles,  and  on  clear  days  from  22  to 
70  meter-candles.  He  recommends  a  minimum  illumination  in- 
tensity of  2.5  foot-candles  for  schools.  In  the  investigation  made 
by  Wilson  in  various  factories,  the  illumination  intensity  in  foot- 
candles  was  in  some  places  as  low  as  0.01;  while  many  other 
establishments  had  an  illumination  intensity  up  to  36  or  more 
foot-candles. 


Courtesy  National  Electric  Light  Assn. 

An  Example  of  Localized  General  Illumination. 

60-watt  tungsten  filament  lamps  with  porcelain  enameled  reflectors  located  7  feet,  6  inches 
above  the  floor. 

In  Germany  an  illumination  intensity  of  10  meter-candles  is 
considered  sufficient  to  write  and  read  by.  For  finer  work  15  to  50 
meter-candles  are  required.  In  Holland  the  law  requires  a  minimum 
intensity  of  10  bougie-meters  (1  foot-candle)  to  be  maintained 
and  in  some  special  industries  such  as  sewing,  embroidering,  knit- 
ting, printing,  etc.,  an  intensity  of  15  bougie-meters  (1J  foot- 
candles)  is  required. 

One  of  the  most  common  light  defects  is  the  presence  of  glare. 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES 


241 


Wilson  defines  glare  as  "  the  dazzling  effect  of  a  powerful  light." 
According  to  Professor  L.  Weber  of  Kiel:* 

"  A  system  of  illumination  may  be  described  as  glaring  when  it 
exceeds  any  of  the  limits  specified  in  the  following,  namely: 

(a)  If  the  ratio  of  the  intrinsic  brilliancy  of  the  source  of  light 
to  that  of  the  illuminated  surroundings  exceeds  a  certain 
limit.  This  ratio  should  not  exceed  a  value  of  about  100. 


Courtesy  United  Gas  Improvement  Co.,  Phila. 

General  Illumination  from  Gas  Arc  Lamps  with  Opal  Globes,  and  Local  Light- 
ing over  Sewing  Machines  with  Reflex  Incandescent  Mantle  Gas  Lamps 
Equipped  with  Opal  Cone  Reflectors. 

(6)  If  the  absolute  intrinsic  brilliancy  of  the  source  exceeds  a 
certain  value.  The  brilliancy  of  the  open  candle  flame 
(about  2.5  candles  per  square  inch)  might  be  taken  as  a 
safe  limit. 

(c)  If  the  angle  between  the  direction  of  vision  of  the  eye  when 
applied  to  the  work  it  is  called  upon  to  do  (e.g.,  when 
gazing  at  a  desk,  blackboard  or  diagram  on  the  wall, 
etc.),  and  the  line  from  the  eye  to  the  source  of  light  is 

*  Quoted  by  Wilson. 


242  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

too   small.     This   minimum   angle   may   be   provisionally 
assumed  to  be  30  degrees. 

(d)  When  the  extent  (apparent  area)  of  the  illuminating  body 
is  too  large.  The  source  should  not  subtend  an  angle 
of  more  than  5  degrees  at  the  eye. 


Courtesy  Royal  Electric  Co.,  Philadelphia. 
Local  Lighting  of  Sewing  Machines  in  a  Shirt  Waist  Factory. 

(Aluminum  finished  metal  reflectors  with  40-watt  Mazda  lamps.) 

In  order,  therefore,  that  a  lighting  system  should  be  free  from 
glare,  it  is  necessary  that 

(1)  No  source  of  light  of  intrinsic  brilliancy  should  be  so  located 

that  it  can  readily  be  seen  except  at  considerable  distance. 

(2)  No  considerable  amount  of  light  even  from  a  well  diffused 

source  should  be  allowed  to  enter  the  pupil  of  the  eye 
directly  when  it   is  focussed   on  the   work;   this   usually 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES 


243 


(3) 


requires  that  no  light  source,  unless  remote,  be  visible 
when  the  head  is  inclined  toward  the  working  surface. 
It  is  desirable  that  the  area  within  the  field  of  vision  be 
uniformly  illuminated;  at  least,  the  brightness  of  any  por- 
tion of  this  area  should  not  be  materially  greater  than 
that  of  the  object  under  observation. 

(4)  Specular  reflection  should  be  guarded  against  so  far  as 
possible.  Where  the  position  of  objects  worked  upon  is 
fixed  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  work  is  in  one  plane, 
lamps  can  be  so  placed  as  to  avoid  ,sj3e£ular  reflection  in 
the  direction  of  the  eye.  In  the  majont^  of  operations 
in  industrial  plants,  however,  such  conditions  do  not 
exist  and  one  should  direct  his  efforts  toward  producing 
conditions  which  will  allow  the  operator  to  shift  his  posi- 
tion in  such  a  manner  that  direct  reflection  cannot  reach 
the  eye.* 


Y 


Courtesy  Royal  Electric  Co.,  Philadelphia. 

Plan  and  Elevation  Showing  Relative  Positions  of  Lamps  and  Sewing  Machines. 

Natural  Light.  Most  of  the  work  in  factories  is  performed 
during  daytime  by  the  aid  of  natural  light.  This  light  comes 
from  direct  rays  of  the  sun  or  is  reflected  from  various  surfaces 
and  diffused  throughout  the  interior  of  the  factory  buildings.  The 
great  value  of  natural  light  is  in  its  disinfecting  properties  and  its 
general  beneficent  influence  upon  the  health  of  persons.  Its  color 
is  also  pleasant  for  the  eyes.  The  illumination  given  by  daylight 
is  general,  in  that  it  is  spread  throughout  the  whole  room.  The 
only  disadvantages  of  daylight  are  that  it  is  not  always  uniform, 
that  its  intensity  depends  upon  the  seasons,  climate,  time  of  the  day 
and  conditions  of  the  weather,  that  it  is  difficult  to  increase  the 
amount  of  light  available  for  local  conditions  and  on  special  materials 
where  greater  intensity  of  light  is  necessary,  and,  that  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun  sometimes  give  too  much  glare. 


*  Industrial    Lighting,  Bulletin  Engineering    Dept.,    National    Lamp    Works    of    General 
Electric  Company,  October,  1913,  p.  14. 


244 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Daylight  is  allowed  to  enter  into  buildings  through  openings 
specially  made  for  that  purpose,  either  on  the  top  or  side  of  the 
building.  The  amount  of  light  which  enters  through  an  opening 
made  at  the  top  of  a  building  or  room  is  proportionately  much 
greater  than  that  which  enters  through  an  opening  of  the  same 
size  at  the  side  of  the  building.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  when 
light  comes  from  the  top,  a  greater  area  of  sky  is  effective,  while 
when  the  light  enters  through  windows  on  the  side,  the  effective 
sky  area  is  usually  less  and  the  angle  such  that  direct  light  is 


Courtesy  National  Electric  Light  Assn. 
Glaring  Light  in  the  Eyes  of  the  Workman. 

secured  only  at  those  locations  close  to  the  windows,  diffused  light 
reaching  the  other  parts  of  the  interior  only  as  it  may  be  reflected 
from  the  floor  and  other  surfaces  near  the  windows.  Top  light 
is  possible  only  in  buildings  where  the  light  is  let  through  either 
skylights  or  saw-tooth  roofs.  Cotton  and  other  weaving  sheds 
and  factories  are  usually  built  one  story  in  height  where  space 
is  not  costly  and  have  either  skylights  or  the  so-called  saw-tooth 
roofs,  which  give  northern  exposure  and  diffuse  a  very  pleasant 
abundant  light. 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES  245 

By  far  the  greatest  number  of  industrial  establishments  get  their 
light  by  means  of  side  windows.  The  amount  of  light  which  reaches 
the  interior  of  buildings  through  windows  depends  upon  a  great  many 
factors,  such  as  the  following:  (a)  height  of  adjoining  buildings 
and  the  color  of  their  walls;  (6)  the  area  of  the  window  surfaces  in 
comparison  with  the  floor  and  other  surfaces  of  the  building  which 
are  to  be  lighted;  (c)  the  size,  depth  and  width  of  the  building  and 
rooms  to  be  lighted;  (d)  the  form  and  methods  of  construction  of 
the  window  itself;  (e)  the  surfaces  within  the  factory;  and  (/)  the 
story  or  place  where  the  light  is  to  enter. 


Courtesy  National  Electric  Light  Assn. 
Improved  Illumination  with  Properly  Shaded  Lamp. 

The  amount  of  light  entering  the  windows  of  an  industrial 
establishment  depends  upon  the  character  of  the  obstructions  near 
the  building.  If  buildings  of  great  height  are  in  close  proximity  to 
the  factory,  it  is  natural  that  a  large  amount  of  light  will  be 
intercepted  and  lost.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  concentrated 
industrial  centers  in  big  cities  where  shops  are  located  in  buildings  of 
ten,  twelve  and  more  stories  in  height,  and  where,  therefore,  the 
windows  of  many  buildings  are  cut  off  from  the  light.  The  wider 
the  space  between  the  buildings  and  the  lower  the  adjoining  build- 


246 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


ing,  the  more  light  will  naturally  penetrate  the  windows.  It  is  also 
natural  that  the  lofts  of  the  upper  stories  will  get  more  light  than 
the  shops  located  in  the  lower  stories  of  the  building,  especially 
those  located  on  the  first  or  second  Eoors  or  in  basements  and 
cellars  which  may  not  have  any  direct  sunlight  at  all. 

As  most  o^the  light  which  enters  loft  buildings  in  overcrowded 
cities  is  reflected  light,  the  color  of  the  surfaces  of  these  buildings 
is  important,  as  there  is  more  reflection  from  light  than  from  dark 
surfaces.  In  all  such  buildings  the  surfaces  of  the  outside  walls 
should  be  light  in  color,  painted  or  lime  washed. 


Courtesy  Adler  Bros.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Localized  Illumination  at  the  Point  of  the  Needle. 

No  less  importance  must  be  attached  to  the  proportion  of  window 
surface  to  the  size  of  the  room  to  be  illuminated.  Various  standards 
are  set  by  the  industrial  codes  of  different  countries  prescribing  the 
exact  proportion  of  the  window  area  to  the  size  of  the  room  and  to 
its  surface.  In  Germany  the  following  standards  have  been 
adopted  by  factory  inspectors : 

(1)  1  square  meter  of  window  area  to  every  30  cubic  meters  of 
room  space.  • 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES 


247 


(2)  A  square  meter  of  window  area  to  every  5  square  meters 
of  floor  space. 

(3)  From  0.25  to  0.5  square  meter  of  window  area  for  every 
workplace. 

(4)  A  ratio  of  windows  to  room  area  of  1  to  5  to  1  to  3. 

No  standards  as  to  the  ratio  of  window  area  to  the  surface  area 
of  the  room  are  set  for  industrial  establishments  in  the  United 
States.  The  New  York  State  tenement  law  requires  windows  in. 
tenements  to  be  from  one-eighth  to  one-tenth  of  the  superficial 


Courtesy  National  Commercial  Ga3  Assn. 

Localizing  Lighting  of  a  Buffing  Machine  in  a  Shoe  Factory. 

(Reflex  gas  lamp  with  porcelain  enameled  angle  metal  reflector.) 

area  of  the  room.  In  school  buildings  the  window  area  is  from  one- 
fourth  to  one-sixth  of  the  floor  area.  It  is  evident  that  industrial 
establishments  ought  to  have  as  large  a  window  area  as  possible, 
and  it  should  not  be  less  than  one-sixth  of  the  floor  area  of  the  room. 
Indeed,  this  is  exceeded  in  many  factories,  where  the  walls  are  all 
windows  with  the  exception  of  the  steel  supporting  columns. 

The  amount  of  light  will  also  depend  upon  the  height  of  the  room 
and  its  width  and  depth.     The  rays  of  the  light  coming  through 


248 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


the  window  fall  at  an  angle  and  reach  only  to  a  certain  distance 
from  the  window,  and  if  the  depth  or  width  of  the  room  is  too  great, 
a  large  part  of  the  room  will  not  be  reached  by  the  rays  coming 
through  the  window,  and  may  remain  wholly  or  partly  dark.  The 
deeper  the  room,  the  less  uniform  the  distribution  of  light.  The 
height  of  a  room  is  also  of  importance  because  the  higher  the  room 
is,  the  greater  will  be  the  quantity  of  light  admitted,  provided  the 
top  of  the  window  is  near  the  ceiling. 


m 


Courtesy  National  Commercial  Gas  Assn. 

Localized-general  Illumination  of  Cutters'  Tables  in  a  Shoe  Factory. 

(Reflex  gas  lamps  with  deep  heavy  opal  reflectors.) 


The  form  of  the  window  and  its  construction  contribute  toward 
determining  the  amount  of  light  entering  it.  The  larger  the  panes, 
the  fewer  the  columns  between  the  panes,  the  higher  the  window 
is  in  the  wall  and  the  nearer  it  is  to  the  ceiling,  the  greater  will  be 
the  amount  of  light.  Light  coming  from  the  southeast  or  south- 
west is  the  best;  north  light  is  also  good.  Light  coming  from  many 
sides  is  not  so  good  as  that  coming  from  two  sides  opposite  to  each 
other. 

The  kind  of  window  glass  is  also  of  importance.  The  loss  of 
light  in  plain  sheet  glass  is  4  per  cent;  double  glass,  9  to  13  per 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES 


249 


cent;  milk  glass,  35  per  cent;  green  or  red  glass,  80  to  90  per  cent. 
The  glass  should  also  be  kept  clean,  as  about  30  per  cent  of  light 
is  lost  through  glass  which  is  covered  with  dust  and  72  per  cent 
through  glass  which  is  very  dirty.* 

Clear  plate  glass  is  the  best.  A  larger  amount  of  light  is  said  to 
be  gained  by  using  ribbed  glass,  because  the  rays  of  light  instead 
of  falling  directly  on  the  floor  are  refracted  by  the  uneven,  wavy 
surfaces  of  the  glass  and  are  directed  more  nearly  horizontally 


Courtesy  Welsbach  Co.,  Gloucester,  N.  J. 
Localized-general  Illumination. 

(Reflex  inverted  gas  lamps  with  Holophane  glass  reflectors,  lamps  arranged  in  rows  over  the 

center  of  machine  tables.) 

further  into  the  room,  thus  illuminating  a  larger  area  within  the 
room  than  would  be  possible  through  the  use  of  plain  glass. 
Still  more  light  may  be  secured  with  properly  designed  prism  glass. 
Next  inimportance  are  the  s^rfac-pa  of  the  walls,  ceilings  and 
flooj^wjtnin  the  shop.  A  considerable  amount  of  light  is  reflected 
from  these  surfaces  depending  upon  their  color  and  cleanliness. 
White  and  light  colored  surfaces  reflect  more  light  than  brown 
and  other  colors  and  should  be  preferred  in  all  factories. 

*  Nussbaum:  Leitfaden  der  Hygiene. 


250 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Machines  and  appliances  within  a  factory  must  be  so  located 
as  not  to  interfere  with  the  light.  It  is  best  to  arrange  the  work 
benches  and  tools  so  that  the  light  should  if  possible  fall  over  the 
backs  and  heads  of  the  workers  instead  of  coming  in  front  of  their 
eyes.  When  the  direct  glare  of  sunlight  is  too  great  it  may  be 
modified  by  the  use  of  shades,  or  curtains.  In  most  factories 
some  provision  must  be  made  for  artificial  illumination,  for  those 


Courtesy  United  Gas  Improvement  Co.,  Phlla. 

Localized-general  Illumination,  Using  One  Reflex  Gas  Lamp  with  Holophane 
Prismatic  Glass  Reflector  for  Each  Pair  of  Machines. 

seasons,  periods  and  times  of  day  when  natural  light  fails.  Con- 
sidering the  importance  of  artificial  lighting,  the  cost  of  labor, 
the  materials  of  manufacture,  and  the  relative  high  efficiency  of 
the  modern  light  sources,  adequate  illumination  is  to-day  exceed- 
ingly inexpensive.  The  cost  must  be  considered  in  conjunction 
with  the  factor  of  efficiency  and  the  general  cost  of  production. 

Artificial  Illumination.     The  exigencies  of  industry  demand  the 
continuation  of  industrial  activity  not  only  during  daylight  but  also 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES 


251 


when  there  is  no  daylight,  or  when  daylight  is  insufficient  or 
inadequate.  Artificial  illumination  has  certain  advantages  over 
daylight.  Its  intensity  may  be  graduated  more  easily  than  that  of 
daylight  and  a  greater  uniformity,  a  better  local  light  and  improved 
distribution  may  also  be  gained. 

The    requirements   for    efficient    artificial    illumination   are    (1) 
that  it  should  be  of  the  required  intensity,  (2)  of  a  color  as  nearly  as 


Courtesy  National  Commercial  Gas  Assn. 

Localized-general  Illumination  for  Sewing  Machine  Operators  on  Gloves. 

(One  reflex  gas  lamp  with  opal  dome  reflector  to  each  two  machines.) 

possible  to  daylight,  (3)  that  it  should  be  uniform  and  steady 
throughout  the  workshop,  (4)  that  it  should  not  cause  glare,  (5) 
that  it  should  be  so  located  as  to  avoid  the  casting  of  shadows  upon 
the  working  plane,  (6)  that  its  installation  should  be  safe,  (7)  that 
it  should  add  as  few  impurities  to  the  air  as  possible,  and  (8)  that 
it  should  cost  as  little  as  possible. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  varying  requirements 
for  intensity  of  illumination  for  certain  industries,  establishments 


252 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


and  kinds  of  work.  As  to  the  color  of  artificial  illumination,  the 
nearer  such  color  is  to  that  of  daylight  the  more  hygienic  it  is  con- 
sidered. Different  kinds  of  illumination  give  a  somewhat  different 
color  spectrum  and  at  times  have  a  predominance  of  one  color. 
The  white  color  of  an  electric  arc  light  or  of  an  incandescent  mantle 
gas  burner  is  nearer  to  daylight  than  other  lights.  A  Cooper  Hewitt 
mercury-vapor  lamp  does  not  contain  red  rays,  but  is  rich  in  green, 
blue  and  violet  rays.  Red  rays  are  accompanied  with  heat  eman- 
ations and  are  largely  predominating  in  most  of  our  present  light 


Courtesy  Edison  Lamp  Works  of  General  Electric  Co. 

Localized-general  Illumination  in  a  Machine  Shop. 

(Flat-dome  enameled  steel  reflectors  with  100-watt  Mazda  lamps  hung  9  ft.  above  the  floor 
for  localized  illumination  and  11  ft.  high  for  general  illumination;  over  the  benches. 
60-watt  lamps  with  enameled  steel  bowl-shaped  reflectors  spaced  on  8-ft.  centers,  3  ins. 
in  from  the  forward  edge  of  the  bench  and  5  ft.  above  the  bench. 

sources,  particularly  the  gas  and  petroleum  flame  burners.  When 
too  near  the  operative  their  heat  may  become  oppressive.  As 
to  the  Cooper  Hewitt  light,  it  is  claimed  that  where  discernment 
of  detail  is  essential  this  light  has  many  advantages.  Many 
workers,  however,  object  to  the  ghastly  effect  of  these  mercury 
vapor  lamps,  due  to  the  absence  of  red  rays.  In  sugar  refineries 
the  blue-green  light  is  found  necessary  to  enable  the  workers  to 
find  impurities  in  the  white  refined  sugar,  and  I  found  no  com- 
plaint against  its  use,  although  here  and  there  among  the  work- 
ers I  found  the  presence  of  a  conjunctivitis.  In  a  lame  film 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES 


253 


factory  where  several  hundred  girls  were  working  for  eight  or 
nine  hours  under  red  light  which  was  necessary  for  the  delicate 
film,  no  complaint  was  made  by  the  employes  and  they  all  seemed 
to  be  in  good  health,  and  the  firm  claimed  that  an  exami- 
nation ^made  by  an  oculist  disclosed  no  injurious  effect  upon  the 
eyes. 

The  uniformity  of  artificial  illumination  depends  upon  the  proper 
location  of  the  lights.  The  absence  of  glare  is  provided  for  by  the 
proper  shading  of  lights  and  will  be  referred  to  later.  The  casting 


Courtesy  National  Commercial  Gas  Assn. 

Local  Lighting  for  Engravers  and  Jewelry  Manufacturing. 

(Inverted  incandescent  mantle  gas  lamps  with  porcelain  enameled  reflectors  suspended    on 

anti-vibrators.) 

of  shadows  by  a  light  upon  the  work  plane  may  be  easily  avoided  by 
proper  location  of  the  light  as  well  as  by  the  arrangement  of  work 
benches.  The  safety  of  the  installation  for  artificial  illumination 
is  provided  for  by  various  municipal  and  state  fire  regulations, 
as  well  as  the  fire  underwriters,  which  regulations  are  usually 
well  known  to  those  called  upon  to  make  the  installation. 

The  means  of  artificial  illumination  in  most  modern  factories 
at  the  present  day  are  acetylene  gas,  illuminating  gas  and  electricity. 
There  are  few7  modern  factories  which  are  lighted  by  petroleum  oil, 


254 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


except  perhaps  some  small  workshops  in  the  tenement-house  dis- 
tricts of  large  industrial  centers.  Acetylene  gas  is  made  from 
calcum  carbide  in  special  generators  which  are  placed  usually 
outside  of  the  establishment  and  the  gas  is  piped  through  the  build- 
ing in  the  same  was  as  city  gas.  Acetylene  gives  an  intense, 
brilliant  white  light  which  must  be  properly  shaded  in  order  to  avoid 
glare.  It  is  used  in  establishments  in  rural  districts  where  neither 
illuminating  gas  nor  electricity  can  be  provided.  Illuminating 
gas  is  used  in  a  large  number  of  factories.  Open-flame  burners 
are  so  inefficient  and  otherwise  unsatisfactory  that  their  use  should 


Courtesy  National  Electric  Light  Assn. 
General  Illumination  in  Composing  Room  of  a  Modern  Printing  Office. 

be  discontinued.  Incandescent  mantle  burners  in  all  sizes,  with 
single  and  multiple  mantles,  upright  and  inverted,  have  been  on 
the  market  sufficiently  long  to  prove  their  economic  value.  These 
mantles  give  a  brilliant  light  and  should  be  well  shaded  or  used 
with  opal  or  other  light-diffusing  glassware. 

Electricity  is  used  in  arc  lamps,  both  of  the  flame  carbon  and 
older  enclosed  carbon  types;  the  latter,  however,  are  being  used 
less  frequently,  due  to  their  comparative  inefficiency.  Incandes- 
cent electric  lamps  are  used  more  frequently;  the  older  form,  with 
the  carbon  filament,  gave  a  light  of  low  intensity,  the  sizes  in  use 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES  255 

ranging  from  eight  to  thirty-two  candle-power.  These  lamps  are 
rapidly  being  replaced  with  the  metal-filament  incandescent  lamps, 
the  tungsten  or  Mazda  lamps,  by  which  higher  intensities  at  about 
one-third  the  former  cost  may  be  secured.  These  lamps  are  avail- 
able in  a  wide  range  of  sizes  and  while  somewhat  fragile  when 
first  introduced  some  years  ago,  they  are  now  amply  strong  for 
factory  use. 

Methods  of  artificial  illumination  in  industrial  plants  may 
be  divided  into  three  classes,  according  to  the  kinds  and  positions 
of  the  lamps  used:  general,  localized,  localized-general. 


Courtesy  Lighting  Journal,  N.  Y. 

General  Illumination  for  Hand  Ironers  in  a  Laundry. 

<Deep-bowl    metal   reflectors   with   interior   finish   of   aluminum   paint   with    150-watt    Mazda 
lamps  spaced  on  20-ft.  centers,   11  ft.  above  the  floor.) 

General  illumination  in  factories  is  gained  by  the  use  of  com- 
paratively large  units  placed  near  the  ceiling  and  gives  illumina- 
tion throughout  the  whole  workroom.  The  advantages  of  this 
system  are  that  it  costs  comparatively  little  for  installation  as  well 
as  for  maintenance  and  in  many  locations  this  system  is  economical 
and  otherwise  satisfactory.  It  is  especially  adapted  for  large, 
high,  open  workrooms  where  a  general  distribution  of  light  is 
more  necessary  than  a  local  centralization  of  light  in  special  places. 
Indirect  lighting  fixtures  are  also  used  for  general  illumination. 
These  are  fixtures  using  opaque  reflectors  underneath  the  lamps 


256  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

which  direct  the  light  upon  the  ceiling  from  where  it  is  reflected 
throughout  the  room.  This  system  should  be  used  only  where  the 
ceiling  and  wall  surfaces  are  of  a  light  color  and  can  be  kept  clean. 
While  indirect  light  is  well  diffused,  much  of  the  light  is  absorbed 
by  the  ceiling  and  wall  surfaces  and  it  is  therefore  not  as  economi- 
cal as  direct  lighting.  Semi-indirect  lighting  is  very  similar  to 
indirect  lighting  with  the  exception  that  in  place  of  an  opaque 
reflector,  a  translucent  reflector  of  heavy  opal  or  some  such  material 
is  used.  With  these  fixtures  direct  light  is  received  from  the 
enclosing  bowl  together  with  indirect  light  from  the  ceiling  sur- 
face. In  the  past  arc  lamps,  both  gas  and  electric,  were  used  for 
general  llumination.  The  large  tungsten  units  are  at  present 
being  used  in  preference  to  arc  lamps  and  in  many  installations 
where  color  discrimination  is  not  a  factor,  mercury-vapor  lamps 
are  rendering  satisfactory  service. 

The  opposite  of  general  illumination  is  localized  lighting.  It  is 
provided  for  by  lamps  of  low  candle-power  and  intensity,  which 
are  placed  directly  above  or  near  the  work  upon  which  the  light  is 
to  be  thrown.  Such  light  is  hardly  ever  used  without  some  other 
illumination  for  the  reason  that  local  lighting  alone  leaves  the  general 
factory  dark,  and  the  difference  between  the  intense  local  light  and 
the  general  darkness  throughout  the  room  is  not  good  for  the  eyes. 
Local  lights  may  be  used  with  benefit  in  certain  work  such  as  sewing 
on  a  machine  or  in  other  trades  where  close  application  is  needed. 
Small  lamps  with  flexible  stands  may  be  then  placed  near  the  op- 
erative, or  special,  low  candle-power  incandescent  bulbs  may  be 
installed  near  the  machines,  as  shown  in  the  several  illustrations. 

Perhaps  a  better  form  of  illumination  is  what  is  called  localized- 
general  illumination,  which  is  gained  by  the  uniform  spacing  of 
tungsten  filament  incandescent  lamps  or  incandescent  mantle 
burners  of  a  desirable  intensity.  Various  size  lamps  are  used  in 
different  locations  throughout  the  shop  to  increase  the  intensity 
of  illumination  for  various  machines  or  benches,  or  to  reduce  it  in 
other  locations  where  a  high  intensity  is  not  desirable.  This 
results  in  a  very  satisfactory  arrangement.  It  is  best  when  using 
such  lamps  to  install  them  with  permanent,  well-constructed 
fixtures,  and  arrange  them  so  that  the  workers  cannot  handle  them 
or  adjust  them  according  to  their  notions.  The  distribution  of 
these  lamps  about  eight  or  nine  feet  above  the  floor  is  best  for 
general  purposes  in  factories  with  ceilings  not  more  than  twelve 
to  thirteen  feet  above  the  floor. 


LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  IN  FACTORIES  257 

The  quantity  of  light  from  tungsten  lamps  varies  with  the 
size  of  the  lamps,  which  range  from  10  to  1000  watts.  For  general 
illumination  the  larger  sizes  are  used,  the  500-  to  1000-watt  lamps 
being  adapted  for  high  deilings.  For  local  illumination,  lamps 
from  15  to  40  watts  are  used;  while  for  localized-general  illumina- 
tion lamps  of  60  to  150  watts  are  used.  Tungsten,  or  as  they  are 
most  generally  called,  Mazda  lamps  are  rated  at  an  efficiency  which 
will  result  in  an  average  useful  life  of  1000  hours,  at  which  point 
the  light  output  should  be  about  80  per  cent  of  the  initial,  beyond 
which  point  it  is  cheaper  to  substitute  a  new  lamp.  The  average 
useful  life  of  these  lamps  is  more  than  twice  that  of  the  old  carbon 
lamps. 

The  light  of  the  tungsten  lamp  is  white  or  in  color  and  is  pleasant 
and  agreeable  to  the  eyes.  These  lamps  give  a  brilliant  light  and 
are  suitable  to  all  kinds  of  rooms  and  buildings.  The  maximum 
intensity  of  light  emanating  from  tungsten  lamps  is  at  right  angles 
to  the  filament.  With  the  lamp  hanging  pendent,  this  maximum  is 
in  a  horizontal  direction  and  can  be  redirected  with  suitable  reflec- 
tors downward  on  to  the  work  bench  or  otherwise  directed  as  may 
be  desired  for  a  general  distribution  of  light  over  the  whole  floor 
space.  It  is  an  economical  lamp,  consuming  from  0.6  watt  in  the 
larger  sizes  to  1.25  watts  in  the  smaller  sizes  per  mean  horizontal 
candle-power  and  is  made  for  use  on  all  commercial  lighting  cir- 
cuits from  100  to  130  volts  and  200  to  260  volts. 

Single  lamps  of  large  wattage  are  preferable  to  clusters  of  smaller 
lamps  giving  equal  li^ht. 

Almost  all  kinds  of  lamps  must  be  provided  with  shades  and 
reflectors  to  modify  their  intensity  and  protect  the  eyes  of  the 
operatives  from  the  harmful  brilliancy  of  the  lamp  filament  or 
incandescent  mantle  and  from  glare.  There  is  perhaps  no  worse 
form  of  illumination  than  that  from  an  unshaded  lamp  at  close 
range,  covered  only  with  the  common  wire  basket  or  guard  which 
is  supposed  to  protect  inflammable  materials.  Practically  all 
of  our  modern  light  sources  if  in  close  proximity  to  the  worker, 
are  apt  to  result  in  too  much  glare  and  whether  in  general,  local, 
or  localized-general  illumination,  some  form  of  shade  or  reflector 
should  be  used.  The  reflectors  are  also  necessary  to  redirect  the 
light  rays  and  insure  an  installation  of  reasonable  efficiency. 
Reflectors  are  made  of  various  materials:  glass,  metal  with  porce- 
lain enamel  and  white  enamel  paint  on  the  inner  surfaces.  The 
kind  and  shape  of  reflector  to  use  depends  upon  the  location  and 


258  .THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

jpositiorfof  the  lamp  and  the  manner  in  which  the  light  is  to  be  distrib- 
uted. Wherever  reflectors  are  used,  it  is  preferable  from  the  stand- 
point of  maintenance  to  use  one  type  throughout  the  shop  or  room. 

Opal  or  prismatic  glass  reflectors  have  been  used  to  a  consider- 
able extent.  These  reflectors  result  in  the  illumination  of  the 
ceiling  and  walls  as  well  as  the  work  places. 

The  common  type  of  reflector  used  in  many  industrial  estab- 
lishments is  one  which  evenly  distributes  the  light  over  the  working 
plane  and  for  many  locations  the  best  reflectors  are  of  steel  with 
white  porcelain  enamel  finish;  they  do  not  corrode,  are  not  affected 
much  by  gas  and  smoke  and  are  strong  enough  for  all  purposes. 

The  latest  orders  of  the  Wisconsin  Industrial  Commission  in 
respect  to  shop  lighting  are  of  interest.  They  are  as  follows: 

Artificial  Light  Where  no  Gas  or  Smoke.  Each  place  of  employ- 
ment in  which  hand  or  machine  operations  are  performed,  must  be 
supplied  during  the  working  hours,  when  daylight  is  not  available, 
with  artificial  light  equivalent  in  amount,  for  each  4  square  feet  of 
floor  space,  to  not  less  than  the  light  produced  by  a  one  candle- 
power  lamp  hung  10  feet  from  the  floor. 

Artificial  Light  Where  Gas  and  Smoke.  In  foundries,  forge 
shops  and  other  industries  where  there  is  smoke  and  gas  which 
obstruct  the  light,  sufficient  artificial  light  must  be  supplied  to  over- 
come the  obstruction  and  to  furnish  the  standard  amount  on  the 
floor  space  specified  above. 

Warehouses  and  Storage  Places.  Each  place  of  employment 
in  which  hand  or  machine  operations  are  not  performed,  such  as 
warehouses,  vat  rooms  and  storage  places,  must  be  supplied  during 
the  working  hours,  when  daylight  is  not  available,  with  artificial 
light  equivalent  in  amount  for  each  8  square  feet  of  floor  space, 
to  not  less  than  the  light  produced  by  a  one  candle-power  lamp 
hung  10  feet  from  the  floor. 

In  each  place  of  employment  where  fine  or  close  work  is  being 
done,  such  as  fine  lathe  work,  engraving,  typesetting  and  drafting, 
and  where  the  standard  of  light  specified  above  is  not  sufficient 
to  prevent  injurious  eye  strain,  sufficient  light  must  be  provided 
in  every  case  to  avoid  unnecessary  eye  strain. 

Note.  In  many  cases  it  is  advisable  to  provide  individual  lights 
for  each  machine,  bench  or  table.  It  is  exceedingly  important 
that  these  lights  be  equipped  with  proper  reflectors  which  can  be 
kept  clean,  and  which  so  reflect  the  light  that  the  eyes  are  not  sub- 
jected to  the  glare  of  the  light,  and  eye  strain  is  avoided. 


CHAPTER  VI 
FACTORY   SANITATION 

LIVING  as  they  do  for  nine,  ten  and  more  hours  daily  within 
the  walls  of  the  factory,  workingmen  are  profoundly  affected  in  their 
health,  in  their  habits,  and  in  their  personal  appearance,  by  the 
conditions  under  which  they  work  in  these  factories.  A  sanitary 
shop  is  one  in  which  the  health  of  the  workers  is  well  conserved 
and  which  is  cleanly,  cheerful  and  efficient.  The  sanitary  care  of 
a  factory  and  the  provision  of  necessities  and  comforts  for  the  use 
of  employes  are  indispensable  to  industrial  efficiency. 

The  conception  of  factory  sanitation  includes  all  those  measures, 
provisions  and  appliances  in  an  industrial  establishment  which 
are  needed  for  the  preservation  of  the  health  of  the  workers  and  the 
prevention  of  disease.  Practically,  however,  the  scope  of  factory 
sanitation  is  limited  to  provisions  for  drinkiixg^water,  washing  and 
dressing,.facilities,  disposaL_of_refuse,  sewage  and  wastes,  and  the 
preservation  of  general  cleanliness. 

The  following  is  a  classification  of  those  items  of  factory  sanita- 
tion which  will  be  discussed  in  this  chapter: 

(1)  General  Cleanliness. 

(a)  Removal  of  dust  from  surfaces. 

(6)  Removal  of  accumulated  dirt  and  rubbish  from  shop. 

(2)  Provision  of  Certain  Necessities  and  Comforts. 
(a)  Drinking  water. 

(6)  Dressing  rooms. 
(c)  Washing  facilities. 

(3)  Disposal  of  Refuse,  etc. 
(a)  Disposal  of  sewage. 

(6)  Disposal  of  odors,  smoke,  gases  and  fumes. 
(c)  Disposal  of  factory  wastes. 

General  Cleanliness.  In  spite  of  the  importance  of  cleanliness 
to  the  efficiency  and  health  of  the  workers,  this  matter  is  much 
neglected  by  employers  and  employes.  As  one  who  has  made 
official  inspections  of  a  great  many  thousand  industrial  establish- 

259 


260  THE  MODEKiS[  FACTORY 

merits  throughout  the  United  States  as  well  as  in  various  countries 
abroad,  I  can  testify  that  there  is  hardly  a  part  of  factory  sanitation 
which  is  so  much  neglected  as  general  cleanliness  in  a  shop.  This 
is  true  not  only  of  one  state  or  industry,  but  is  general  in  the  establish- 
ments in  many  different  countries,  except,  perhaps,  in  Germany 
where  the  industrial  establishments  seem  to  me  to  be  the  cleanest 
of  any  I  have  seen. 

The  walls,  ceilings,  floors,  fixtures  and  machinery,  are  apt  to 
be  covered  by  much  dust  and  dirt  in  every  factory  not  having 
artificial  or  local  ventilation.  The  layers  of  dust  when  covering 
lighting  fixtures,  reduce  the  amount  of  light  in  the  factory  and 
when  deposited  upon  the  walls  and  ceilings,  greatly  reduce  the 
light  reflected  from  the  surfaces.  The  walls  and  ceilings  are  not 
only  apt  to  be  covered  with  dust,  but  are  frequently  marred  by 
grime  and  dirt  which  adhere  to  them  for  a  long  time,  and  indicate 
that  these  surfaces  are  only  cleaned  at  long  intervals.  In  all  labor 
codes  and  factory  laws  there  are  rules  and  regulations  requiring 
the  owner  to  clean  the  walls  and  ceilings  and  to  limewash  them  at 
certain  intervals  and  at  the  order  of  the  factory  inspectors. 
Owners  of  industrial  establishments  would  find  that  it  would  pay 
them  to  have  the  surfaces  of  the  walls  and  ceilings  frequently 
cleaned  and  painted  a  light  color,  as  this  increases  the  light  within 
the  establishment  and  pays  in  increased  production  and  efficiency. 
Of  course,  there  are  a  number  of  large  industrial  establishments 
which  endeavor  to  keep  all  the  surfaces  within  the  factory  in  a  clean 
condition.  This  is  accomplished  by  the  hiring  of  a  special  cleaning 
squad  and  putting  the  responsibility  of  the  general  cleanliness  of 
the  shop  upon  special  persons.  With  motive  power  present  in 
practically  every  workshop,  there  is  no  reason  why  a  system  of 
vacuum  cleaning,  which  would  do  the  work  of  cleaning  efficiently, 
cannot  be  installed  and  maintained  in  every  industrial  plant.  I 
believe  this  would  pay  for  itself  in  a  very  short  time. 

The  cleaning  of  floors  is  usually  much  neglected  in  ordinary 
factories.  The  cleanliness  of  the  floor  depends  a  great  deal  upon 
the  material  of  which  it  is  constructed;  but  whatever  the  material 
may  be,  the  difficulties  of  cleaning  it  are  not  insurmountable. 
Perhaps  the  best  method  of  cleaning  floors  and  also  walls  and  ceilings 
is  by  means  of  a  hose  with  water  under  pressure.  Of  course,  this 
can  be  done  only  in  places  where  the  water  will  not  injure  the 
machinery  or  the  materials  in  the  manufacturing  plant.  In  plants 
where  deleterious  poisons  such  as  lead  are  employed,  the  cleaning 


FACTORY  SANITATION  261 

of  the  floor  should  be  done  by  means  of  hot  water  and  scrubbing 
brush;  where  much  organic  matter  is  used,  with  some  disinfectant, 
such  as  a  solution  of  lysol,  carbolic  acid,  etc.  Floors  should  be  free 
from  cracks,  crevices,  ruts,  etc.,  which  must  be  repaired  as  soon  as 
noticed.  The  dry  sweeping  of  floors  is  objectionable,  especially 
when  done  during  working  hours,  as  it  raises  dust  which  spreads 
upon  materials  and  is  inhaled  by  the  workers. 

In  an  investigation  of  5124  workshops  which  was  made  by  the 
New  York  State  Factory  Commission  during  1911-12,  the  general 
cleanliness  was  considered  good  in  only  41.9  per  cent  of  the  shops, 
poor  in  34.2  per  cent  of  the  shops,  and  bad  in  19.2  per  cent  of 
the  shops.  As  to  the  industries  in  which  the  greatest  percentage 
of  unclean  shops  was  found,  93.1  per  cent  of  the  shops  in  which 
human  hair  goods  were  made,  were  very  dirty,  82.2  per  cent  of 
places  where  mineral  water  was  manufactured  were  in  the  same 
condition,  80  per  cent  of  the  ice  cream  shops,  76.6  per  cent  of 
the  candy  and  50.8  per  cent  of  the  bread  and  bakery  establish- 
ments investigated  were  also  in  a  bad  sanitary  condition. 

Of  great  importance  to  the  general  cleanliness  of  a  shop  is  the 
prompt  and  efficient  removal  of  all  rubbish,  sweepings,  clippings, 
etc.  Labor  codes  usually  have  regulations  requiring  the  daily 
removal  from  buildings  of  all  kinds  of  waste  materials,  and  the 
provision  of  receptacles  of  fireproof  material  in  which  the  rubbish, 
sweepings,  clippings,  etc.,  should  be  deposited  in  order  not  to  litter 
the  floors  and  other  surfaces  with  this  material.  There  are  a  num- 
ber of  forms  of  receptacles  which  are  available  for  this  purpose. 
Incinerators  and  destructors  may  be  easily  installed  in  every  plant 
and  greatly  facilitate  the  work  of  destroying  all  waste  matter. 
Where  clippings,  or  rubbish,  may  be  of  some  value,  they  should  be 
^"stored  in  proper  receptacles  or  pressed  into  bales  and  removed  daily. 

The  habits  of  a  great  many  workers  are  such  that  it  is  very 
difficult  to  induce  them  to  deposit  all  rubbish  in  the  receptacles 
provided,  instead  of  throwing  waste  matter  upon  the  floor.  A  sys- 
tem of  education  in  sanitary  matters  is  necessary  in  order  to 
persuade  employes  to  conform  to  the  general  rules  of  sanitation 
and  to  gain  their  cooperation  in  keeping  the  place  clean. 

In  view  of  the  possible  presence  in  every  workshop  of  one  or 
more  employes  who  are  victims  of  tuberculosis,  the  disposal  of 
sputum  and  also  the  proper  cleaning  and  disinfection  of  cuspidors 
should  not  be  neglected.  The  mere  prohibition  of  spitting  is  insuf- 
ficient, and  the  posting  of  notices  and  signs  has  not  much  effect. 


262 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


£^ 


FACTORY  SANITATION  263 

Suitable  cuspidors  should  be  provided  and  it  is  necessary  to 
have  a  sufficient  number  of  them  in  order  to  prevent  the  employes 
from  spitting  upon  the  floors.  I  have  seen  some  cuspidors  in  France 
made  in  the  form  of  a  porcelain  or  enamel  iron  bowl  permanently 
attached  to  a  waste  pipe,  trapped  and  provided  with  a  water-supplied 
faucet.  Hard  vitrified  china  is  probably  the  best  material  because 
of  the  possibility  of  the  use  of  bichloride  of  mercury  or  some  other 
corrosive  poison  as  a  disinfectant.  The  cuspidors  should  be  so 
designed  as  to  permit  easy  cleaning  and  self-draining,  should  con- 
tain no  angles  to  interfere  with  the  cleaning  process,  and  should 
have  a  wide  neck  so  as  to  permit  cleaning  them  with  a  hose  if  neces- 
sary. They  should  contain  some  disinfecting  solution,  as  it  has 
been  found  that  it  is  difficult  to  clean  these  cuspidors  properly  if 
they  contain  no  such  solution.  Cuspidors  may  also  be  filled  with 
sawdust. 

In  the  United  States  Government  Printing  Office,  Dr.  Manning 
has  devised  a  sanitary  clutch  which  picks  up  the  cuspidors,  one 
above  the  other,  in  "  nests  "  of  five,  without  the  hands  of  the  cleaner 
in  any  manner  coming  in  contact  with  the  infected  or  soiled  cus- 
pidors, thus  entirely  avoiding  the  irksome,  repulsive  features  which 
characterize  the  methods  of  washing  spittoons  in  vogue  at  present, 
and  greatly  minimizing  the  danger  of  infection.  The  vessels  thus 
collected  are  carried  by  means  of  the  clutch  to  specially  designed 
wooden,  zinc-lined  box  trucks  with  detachable  sides.  Each  truck 
is  capable  of  holding  175  cuspidors  for  transmission  to  the  steriliz- 
ing chamber.  After  the  trucks  are  filled  they  are  transmitted 
from  the  respective  floors  to  the  basement  on  a  freight  elevator 
and  wheeled  directly  into  the  sterilizing  chamber.  The  contents  of 
the  cuspidors  are  emptied  into  a  trough  connecting  with  the  sewer 
by  means  of  short  forceps  which  grasp  the  lip  of  the  cuspidor. 
After  the  vessel  has  been  made  thoroughly  clean  and  sterilized  by 
immersion  in  boiling  water,  the  operator,  still  grasping  the  forceps, 
presses  the  vessel  into  the  steel  spring  clutch  on  the  rack,  where  it 
drains  and  dries,  as  shown  in  the  photograph.  It  is  then  washed 
with  a  solution  of  bichloride  of  mercury  sufficient  to  kill  the  most 
resistant  disease  germs. 

Water  Supply  for  Drinking  Purposes.  Every  industrial  estab- 
lishment needs  an  adequate  supply  of  water  for  drinking  purposes. 
The  quantity  of  water  needed  must  be  sufficient  for  all  seasons  and 
conditions.  The  sources  of  supply  do  not  depend  upon  the  manu- 
facturer, when  the  industrial  establishment  is  located  in  a  city  where 


264 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


water  is  received  from  the  public  supply  system.  In  factories 
located  in  rural  communities  the  question  of  the  water  supply  is 
of  great  importance,  as  the  ordinary  sources,  such  as  nearby  rivers 
or  lakes,  are  liable  to  be  contaminated  with  sewage,  factory  waste, 
sludge,  etc.  In  such  cases  it  is  necessary  for  the  employer  to  get 
water  from  a  carefully  selected  source,  uncontaminated  by  sewage 
and  organic  matter.  The  supply  of  water  is  usually  conducted 
through  pipes,  pumped  to  the  highest  part  of  the  factory  into  tanks, 


Courtesy  Eastman  Kodak  Co. 

Drinking  Fountains. 

and  supplied  from  those  tanks  to  the  various  parts  of  the  building. 
The  tanks  should  be  properly  constructed,  covered  and  guarded 
against  contamination  and  frequently  cleaned.  The  hardness  or 
softness  of  the  water  is  of  importance  for  industrial  as  well  as 
for  drinking  purposes.  The  hardness  of  the  water  depends  upon 
the  presence  of  carbonate  of  lime  and  of  sulphates  and  chlorides. 
Temporary  hardness,  which  may  be  driven  off  by  boiling,  is  caused 
by  carbonate  of  lime;  permanent  hardness  depends  upon  the  pres- 
ence of  chlorides,  sulphates,  salts  of  magnesium,  etc.,  and  cannot 
be  removed  by  boiling. 


FACTORY  SANITATION 


265 


Water  for  drinking  purposes  should  be  purified,  and  the  best 
methods  are  nitration  and  distillation.  In  nitration  the  water  passes 
through  a  material  which  is  capable  of  retaining  some  or  all  the 
impurities.  The  value  of  a  water  filter  depends  upon  (1)  the  char- 
acter of  the  filtering  medium  and  its  ability  to  retain  and  remove 
from  the  water  as  many  impurities  as  possible,  (2)  the  rapidity  and 
thoroughness  of  the  filtering  process,  (3)  the  ready  cleaning  of  the 


Courtesy  Standard  Sanitary  Mfg.  Co.,  Pittsburgh. 

Bubbling  Valve  Drinking  Fountain. 


filtering  media,  and  (4)  the  simplicity,  cheapness  and  accessibility 
of  the  filter.  In  the  Berkefeld  filter,  infusorial  earth  is  the  filtering 
medium.  It  is  pressed  in  the  form  of  hollow  tubes.  The  water  is 
forced  up  through  the  fine  pores  of  the  filter  and  flows  out  at  the  top. 
It  is  claimed  for  this  filter  that  when  new  it  will  remove  all  organic 
matter  and  bacteria  from  the  water.  The  filter  is  made  in  various 
forms  and  sizes,  and  may  be  attached  to  the  house  sink  faucet. 
The  filtering  tube  must  be  frequently  removed,  sometimes  more  than 


266  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

once  a  day,  and  the  dirt  accumulated  upon  the  surfaces  washed  off, 
otherwise  the  filtering  process  becomes  slower  and  slower  and  stops 
when  the  pores  of  the  tubes  become  clogged. 

In  establishments  where  there  is  reason  to  suspect  that  the  source 
of  the  water  supply  is  contaminated,  the  best  purification  method 
is  distillation.  There  are  many  distilling  apparata  for  water  which 
may  be  conveniently  and  cheaply  installed  in  the  factory.  During 
the  summer,  it  is  necessary  for  the  comfort  of  the  employes  to  cool 
the  water,  and,  in  a  great  many  of  the  better  class  factories,  water 
coolers,  in  which  water  is  cooled  by  means  of  ice  or  by  the  ammonia 
process,  are  provided. 

In  large  industrial  establishments,  a  water-cooling  plant  of  the 
mechanical  refrigeration  type  may  be  installed,  and  the  cooled 
water  supplied  to  the  several  floors  through  well-insulated  pipes. 
A  small  rotary  pump  will  keep  the  water  in  circulation,  flow  and 
return  pipes  being  provided,  so  that  cold  water  will  be  on  tap  as 
soon  as  a  faucet  is  opened.  In  large  plants  occupying  several 
buildings  and  spread  over  several  acres  of  ground,  the  drinking 
fountains  should  be  scattered  over  the  premises  so  they  will  be  avail- 
able without  loss  of  time.  Wherever  a  bubble  fountain  is  set  up 
under  such  conditions,  a  separate  cooler  will  be  necessary,  as  it 
would  not  be  economical  or  practical  to  pump  cooled  water  to  all 
parts  of  the  plant  from  a  central  station  on  account  of  the  expense 
of  insulation,  or  the  alternative  of  great  loss  of  cold.  The  most 
practical  solution  is  to  have  a  coil  of  tin  pipe  in  an  ice  chest  or  cooler 
near  each  fountain,  to  cool  the  water  used  there.  These  cooling 
coils  may  be  placed  in  any  convenient  place  nearby,  or  in  an  ice 
cellar  built  in  the  ground  alongside  of  the  fountain  and  covered  with 
an  iron  manhole  cover.* 

Drinking  water  fixtures  should  be  located  on  every  floor,  acces- 
sible to  all  employes  and  at  not  too  great  distance  from  any  part 
of  the  room,  so  that  the  employes  need  not  waste  too  much  time 
in  walking  to  and  from  the  fixtures. 

The  old  method  of  providing  a  single  cup  for  all  the  employes 
is  condemned  by  all  sanitarians.  It  has  been  proved  that  the  com- 
mon drinking  cup  is  a  carrier  of  infectious  disease,  and  its  use  is 
prohibited  by  many  sanitary  codes.  The  substitution  of  individual 
or  paper  cups  for  the  common  drinking  cup  is  better,  but  it  is  not 
practicable  in  large  industrial  establishments.  Drinking  fountains 
so  constructed  that  the  water  flows  at  all  times,  and  drinking  is 

*  J.  J.  Cosgrove:  "Factory  Sanitation,"  Standard  Sanitary  Manufacturing  Co.,  p.  xx-xxi.     _ 


FACTORY  SANITATION 


267 


268  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

possible  without  contaminating  any  stationary  fixture,  are  now  re- 
garded as  best  from  a  sanitary  standpoint. 

Sanitary  drinking-water  fountains  sometimes  called  bubble- 
valve  fountains  must  be  so  constructed  that  the  person  using  them 
drinks  from  a  stream  or  jet,  and  cannot  put  his  lips  on  the  outlet 
for  water.  Every  fountain  must  be  so  arranged  that  waste  water 
will  be  carried  away  without  slopping. 

Washing  Facilities.  There  is  much  dust  and  dirt  in  every  indus- 
trial establishment,  and  almost  all  work  soils  the  hands  and  other 
exposed  parts  of  the  bodies  of  the  workers.  Some  materials  are 
injurious  to  health,  and  others,  such  as  arsenic,  are  virulent  poisons 
when  absorbed  by  the  body.  It  is  therefore  essential  for  general 
cleanliness  as  well  as  for  the  prevention  of  disease  that  ample 
provision  be  made  in  every  industrial  establishment  for  washing  the 
hands  and  other  exposed  surfaces  of  the  body. 

Very  inadequate  provision  is  commonly  made  for  washing 
facilities  in  this  country,  and  very  little  attention  is  paid  to  this  im- 
portant sanitary  subject  by  employers.  In  an  investigation  made 
by  the  New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission,  the 
inspectors  found  washing  facilities  inadequate  in  71.8  per  cent  of 
the  shops.  In  a  large  number  of  establishments  the  washing  facil- 
ities were  located  in  a  distant  part  of  the  building,  and  it  required 
considerable  time  for  the  employes  to  reach  them.  This  inconve- 
nient location  of  washing  facilities  shows  general  inefficiency  in  the 
management  of  the  shop,  and  is  a  direct  source  of  waste  of  time 
and  energy.  As  Mr.  Cosgrove  well  says: 

"  The  necessity  for  modern  sanitation  in  the  factory  does  not 
rest  entirely  upon  the  value  of  sanitation  for  hygienic  reasons,  but 
is  made  imperative  by  the  fact  that  money  is  saved,  production 
cheapened,  cost  of  maintenance  lessened,  better  employes  secured, 
and  their  efficiencies  enhanced,  by  the  proper  number  and  dis- 
tribution of  sanitary  appliances.  If,  for  instance,  in  a  factory 
employing  500  men,  each  loses  3  minutes  a  day  walking  an  unneces- 
sary distance  to  water-closet  or  urinal,  or  waiting  in  line  at  the 
toilet  convenience  for  their  turns,  it  would  mean  a  loss  each  year 
of  over  three  working  days  for  one  man.  Allowing  an  average  wage 
of  $2.00  per  day  and  300  working  days  in  the  year,  then  the  loss 
from  this  cause  alone  would  be  $1800,  annually,  or  an  amount 
sufficient  to  pay  interest  at  5  per  cent  on  $36,000  for  extra  equip- 
ment." * 

It  is  absurd  for  employers  to  blame  their  employes  for  lack 

*  J.  J.  Cosgrove:  "Factory  Sanitation,"  Standard  Sanitary  Manufacturing  Co.,  p.  vii. 


FACTORY  SANITATION  269 

of  cleanliness,  if  these  employers  do  not  provide  proper  washing 
facilities.  In  some  of  the  factories  I  inspected,  the  washing  facili- 
ties were  so  crude  and  antiquated,  that  no  one  could  blame  the  em- 
ployes for  refusing  to  use  them. 

Whether  the  wash  basins  should  be  put  in  the  shop  or  in  sepa- 
rate wash-rooms  is  a  matter  which  must  be  decided  according  to 
the  needs  of  the  establishment.  Wherever  there  are  a  large  num- 


Courtesy  Adler  Bros.,  Rochester.  N.  Y. 
Dressing  Room  with  Sanitary  Washing  Arrangements  and  Individual  Lockers. 

ber  of  women,  it  is  essential  to  provide  separate  wash-rooms  prop- 
erly lighted  and  ventilated  and  "kept  in  a  clean  condition.  The 
number  of  wash  basins  with  faucets  for  the  employes  depends  very 
much  upon  the  character  of  the  work,  and  in  some  industrial  codes 
the  ratio  has  been  set  at  one  faucet  with  wash  basin  for  every  15 
employes. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  there  are  so  few  establishments  where 
hot  water  is  supplied  in  the  wash-rooms  or  for  the  wash  basins. 
New  York  and  several  other  state  industrial  codes  require  hot 
water  supplied  in  all  establishments  where  lead  or  other  poisons  are 


270  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

being  worked  with.  Hot  water,  however,  should  be  supplied  in 
every  establishment,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  difficult  to  cleanse 
the  hands  without  it,  and  many  employes  fail  to  use  the  washing 
facilities  because  of  the  absence  of  hot  water.  In  foundries  and 
similar  shops,  common  sink  troughs  with  separate  faucets  for  every 
ten-foot  space  may  be  used;  but  these  sinks  should  be  made  of 
white  enameled  iron,  or  of  earthenware.  In  other  establishments 


Courtesy  Pierce  Arrow  Motor  Car  Co. 

Individual  Wash  Basins  for  Employes. 

it  is  best  to  have  individual  wash  basins.  Sinks  and  wash  basins 
should  be  made  of  vitrified  glazed  earthenware  or  enameled  iron. 
If  there  is  not  sufficient  daylight  in  the  neighborhood  of  these 
fixtures,  artificial  illumination  should  be  maintained. 

A  supply  of  soap  is  a  necessary  adjunct,  and  the  complaint  of 
many  employers  that  this  is  costly  because  employes  misappropriate 
the  pieces  of  soap,  may  be  met  by  supplying  tilting  soap  powder 
dishes  or  soft  green  soap  which  is  very  good  for  washing  purposes. 
The  common  towel,  especially  the  roller  variety,  is  to  be  condemned, 


FACTOEY  SANITATION  271 

and  individual  or  paper  towels  should  be  furnished.  Of  equal 
importance  with  the  provision  of  washing  facilities  is  proper  super- 
vision by  the  factory  authorities  to  make  sure  that  they  are  used. 
There  are  very  few  factories  where  the  washing  up  at  noon  is 
compulsory  or  supervised  by  foremen.  This  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary in  some  establishments,  especially  where  injurious  substances 
are  employed. 

One  of  the  reasons  why  plumbism  is  being  eliminated  in  the 
Pullman  car  shops  at  Pullman,  Illinois,  is  the  stringent  lavatory 
supervision  at  the  noon  hour.  Ten  minutes  before  the  noon  hour 
the  bell  is  rung  and  all  employes  are  compelled  to  go  to  the  central 
wash-rooms,  where  they  are  furnished  with  individual  nailbrushes, 
soap  and  towels,  and  where  they  spend  five  to  ten  minutes  in  the 
process  of  washing,  this  process  being  supervised  by  foremen.  I 
was  not  surprised  to  learn  that  since  the  introduction  of  this  "  wash- 
up  "  system,  the  number  of  persons  suffering  from  lead  poisoning 
in  the  Pullman  Company  has  been  reduced  from  seventy-seven 
in  July,  1911,  to  none  in  July,  1912.  The  mere  provision  of  wash 
basins  and  water  is  not  sufficient  to  insure  the  proper  cleansing  of 
the  hands,  which  is  so  necessary  to  the  health  of  the  employes  in 
certain  trades. 

Dressing  Rooms.  Much  of  the  work  performed  in  industrial 
establishments  soils  the  clothing  worn  by  the  workers.  It  is  there- 
fore necessary  to  provide  places  in  which  workers  may  take  off  their 
street  clothes,  don  their  overalls  or  other  special  clothes  to  be  worn 
while  at  work,  and  change  their  clothes  at  the  end  of  the  working 
day.  In  establishments  where  there  is  much  humidity,  dampness 
or  water,  or  where  poisonous  substances  are  being  worked  with,  it 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  special  overalls,  aprons,  shoes  and 
caps  provided.  There  is  hardly  an  establishment  where  a  dressing 
room  is  not  needed.  In  some  establishments  not  only  a  dressing 
room  but  a  laundry  and  drying  room  are  also  necessary. 

In  this,  as  well  as  in  other  sanitary  matters,  there  is  a  great 
difference  in  the  attitude  and  practice  of  employers.  While  some 
manufacturers  install  and  maintain  splendid  dressing  rooms  with 
proper  light,  ventilation  and  comforts  for  their  employes,  others 
consider  this  matter  unimportant  and  cither  make  no  provision 
whatever  for  this  purpose,  or  locate  the  dressing  rooms  in  cellars, 
basements  or  some  dark  nooks  and  corners  unfit  for  any  other 
purposes. 

Dressing   rooms   should   be    separate    for   males   and   females; 


272 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


should  be,  if  possible,  located  in  different  parts  of  the  floor  and  should 
be  enclosed  by  solid  partitions  and  walls  extending  at  least  to  a 
height  of  seven  feet.  Dressing  rooms  should  be  separated  from 
toilet  and  water-closet  apartments  by  solid  partitions  extending 
to  the  ceiling.  Every  dressing  room  should  have  at  least  one 
window  of  suitable  size  opening  to  the  outer  air,  and  should  also 
be  provided  with  artificial  illumination. 

Dressing  rooms  must  be  always  well  ventilated,  as  it  is  neces- 


Courtesy  N.  Y.  Telephone  Co. 
Individual  Lockers  for  Employes. 

sary  to  have  plenty  of  air  in  such  a  room.  Provision  must 
also  be  made  for  the  proper  cleaning  of  all  dressing  rooms  by 
employes  specially  designated  for  this  purpose.  Every  dressing 
room  should  be  kept  heated  in  winter  to  a  temperature  not  less 
than  50°  F.  The  walls  and  ceilings  should  be  painted  a  light  color 
and  kept  clean.  Dressing  rooms  should  be  provided  with  separate 
clothes  hooks  for  every  person  employed,  or  special  clothes  lockers 
for  each  employe.  In  a  number  of  factories  a  steel  locker  is  pro- 
vided for  each  employe,  divided  into  two  parts,  one  for  the  work- 


FACTORY  SANITATION 


273 


ing  clothes  and  the  other  for  the  street  clothes.  There  are 
several  such  lockers  on  the  market.  Most  of  them  are  very  good 
and  comparatively  cheap.  In  some  industrial  codes  a  standard 
is  set  for  the  size  of  the  dressing  rooms,  especially  those  for  the  use 
of  females.  The  size,  however,  of  the  dressing  room  is  not  of  so  much 
importance  as  its  proper  construction  and  the  installation  of 
lockers. 

Bathing   Facilities.    In   some    establishments,    because   of   the 


Courtesy  Utica  Drop  Forge  and  Tool  Co. 
Bathroom  for  Employes  Finished  in  Glazed  Brick. 

dust  or  dirt,  injurious  poisons,  or  penetrating  colors  used,  bath- 
ing facilities  for  the  employes  to  use  after  their  work  become  neces- 
sary. The  number  of  employers  who  provide  bathing  facilities  in 
their  establishments  is  small,  even  in  those  industries  where  such 
fixtures  are  absolutely  needed.  Some  employers  have  installed 
fine  shower  or  tub  baths  in  their  factories,  others  are  satisfied  with 
any  makeshift  fixture.  I  remember  one  large  factory  in  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  where  aniline  colors  are  made  in  which  the  owners  were 
compelled  to  install  bathing  facilities  because  the  street  car  com- 


274 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


panies  refused  to  allow  their  employes  to  ride  on  the  cars  after  their 
work  without  having  bathed.  In  this  plant,  the  bathing  facilities 
provided  for  the  three  or  four  hundred  workers  were  in  the  form  of 
three  huge  tanks  filled  with  dirty,  slimy  water.  Each  tank  was  used 
by  one  hundred  or  more  employes,  and  the  water  was  changed  but 
once  a  week.  The  reluctance  of  the  employes  to  use  fixtures  of 
this  kind  and  their  contempt  for  such  so-called  "  welfare  work  " 
may  be  readily  justified. 

The  location  of  the  bathrooms  is  of  less  importance  than  that  of 
dressing  rooms,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  the  basement  of  the  fac- 


Courtesy  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control. 

Broken  Plumbing  and  Darkness  Create  Conditions  such  as  These. 

tory  building  should  not  be  used  for  this  purpose.  The  floors, 
walls  and  surfaces  of  bath  rooms  should  be  made  of  impervious 
material.  Each  fixture  should  be  separated  by  partitions,  as  many 
employes  object  to  using  the  common  battery  of  bath-tubs  located 
in  one  undivided  room.  Most  of  the  baths  provided  are  of  the 
shower  form,  which  are  cleaner  than  tubs.  Shower  baths  also 
take  up  less  space  and  can  be  more  quickly  and  frequently  used. 

Plumbing  and  Plumbing  Fixtures.  In  all  factories  proper  pro- 
vision should  be  made  for  a  water  carriage  system  of  plumbing 
whether  there  are  sewers  located  in  the  street  or  not.  The  instal- 
lation of  plumbing  fixtures  in  factories  is  usually  under  the  super- 
vision of  municipal  authorities.  All  plumbing  pipes,  vertical  as 


FACTORY  SANITATION  275 

well  as  horizontal,  should  be  made  of  extra  heavy  cast  iron,  but  the 
usual  plumbing  pipes  are  too  large  for  the  purpose.  Unless  very 
large  quantities  of  water  and  waste  are  sent  through  the  pipes, 
soil  and  waste  pipes  may  be  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter  for  all 
buildings  under  six  or  seven  stories  in  height.  My  opinion  is  that 
in  most  places  the  soil  and  waste  pipes  may  be  conveniently  merged 
into  one,  and  only  one  pipe  used  for  the  waste  and  for  the  water- 
closets  and  urinals.  The  elimination  of  the  vent  system  upon 
which  most  plumbing  codes  insist,  would  also  reduce  the  expense, 
waste  and  the  defective  conditions  at  present  existing.  The  one 
pipe  system  of  plumbing  is  at  present  approved  by  eminent  sani- 
tarians. 

The  house  drain  should  be  made  of  extra  heavy  cast  iron,  six 
or  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  it  is  best  to  have  it  exposed.  The 
pitch  of  the  house  drain  should  not  be  less  than  one-half  inch  to  the 
foot  and  the  house  drain  should  be  provided  with  a  main  trap 
having  a  tide  valve  and  a  number  of  hand  holes  for  cleaning  pur- 
poses. 

Toilet  Accommodations.  No  part  of  an  industrial  establish- 
ment is  so  neglected  as  the  toilet  accommodations.  In  many  cases 
they  are  located  outside  of  the  factory,  and  sometimes  quite  a  dis- 
tance from  it,  causing  the  loss  of  much  time  and  also  endangering 
the  health  of  the  employes. 

In  the  investigations  made  for  the  New  York  State  Factory 
Commission,  the  toilets  were  located  in  yards  in  186  of  the  estab- 
lishments inspected.  In  some  chemical  establishments  I  found  the 
toilets  150  feet  from  the  central  part  of  the  establishment.  In  795 
shops,  the  toilets  were  located  in  halls  and  usually  kept  in  a  grossly 
unsanitary  condition.  Many  of  the  toilets  were  not  separated  for 
the  sexes  and  were  of  an  obsolete  and  crude  type.  In  a  large  number 
of  factories  in  rural  communities  the  unsanitary  privy  is  still  being 
used,  and  in  a  large  chemical  factory  in  New  Jersey  the  toilets 
consist  of  nothing  but  a  ramshackle  frame  shed  over  a  canal,  with 
only  a  narrow  board  for  a  foot  rest.  School  sinks  and  trough 
closets  are  still  found  in  some  factories,  and  in  one  of  the  largest 
sugar  refineries  old  trough  closets  are  still  in  use.  In  a  shoddy 
mill  in  a  city  in  Central  New  York  State,  the  owner,  a  "  member 
of  the  local  health  board,"  entirely  neglected  to  provide  any  water- 
closet  accommodations  for  his  thirty  or  forty  employes.  His  sub- 
stitute for  proper  toilet  accommodation  was  a  wooden  barrel  in 
a  sub-cellar  of  his  establishment.  Where  the  toilet  accommoda- 


276  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

tions  are  of  a  better  type,  they  are  so  neglected  that  their  condition 
is  unspeakably  dirty.     The  illustrations  on  pages  274  -277  are  from 


Courtesy  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary     Control. 

A  Broken  Fixture  in  Use  in  a  Tenant  Factory  on  the  East  Side  of  New  York  City. 

photographs  taken  of  actual  conditions  in  the  garment  industry  in 
New  York  City. 

Even  in  European  countries  where  there  is  usually  more  regard 
for  factory  laws,  I  found  the  condition  of  the  toilet  accommodations 
very  bad,  especially  in  France  and  Belgium.  In  many  factories  in 


FACTORY  SANITATION  277 

these  countries  the  fixtures  in  use  for  toilet  accommodations  were 
simply  openings  in  the  floors  connected  with  sewers,  no  seats  or  any 
fixtures  at  all  being  used  above  the  floor.  Privacy  is  very  much 
neglected  in  these  countries,  and  in  many  establishments  I  found 
toilet  rooms  used  by  both  sexes. 

All  industrial  and  sanitary  codes  demands  separate  water-closet 
compartments  for  the  sexes  in  every  factory  where  men  and 
women  are  employed.  All  toilet  rooms  should  be  located  within 
the  factory  building  and  be  convenient  and  accessible  to  the  persons 
using  them.  It  is  best  to  provide  toilet  rooms  on  every  floor  of 
the  establishment;  but  in  no  case  should  the  workers  on  more  than 


Courtesy  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control. 

Toilet  in  a  Tenant  Factory  on  the  East  Side  of  New  York  City. 

two  floors  be  allowed  to  use  a  toilet  room  on  one  floor.  Toilets 
should  invariably  be  located  on  a  floor  where  a  large  number  of 
employes  are  working. 

The  location  of  toilet  rooms  in  halls  is  not  recommended.  Each 
toilet  room  should  be  properly  screened  and  provided  with  a  vesti- 
bule and  the  entrance  should  not  open  into  the  room  where  most 
of  the  workers  are  employed.  It  is  best  that  toilet  rooms  for  males 
and  females  should  be  in  different  parts  of  the  building.  Where 
they  are  placed  together  they  should  be  separated  by  solid  plas- 
tered or  other  sound  proof  partitions  extending  from  floor  to  ceil- 
ing. The  doors  of  every  toilet  room  and  of  the  water-closet  compart- 
ments should  be  self-closing.  The  outside  partitions  must  be  air- 
tight and  must  extend  to  the  ceiling. 


278  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  floor  of  every  toilet  room  and  the  side  walls  to  a  height  of 
six  feet  should  be  constructed  of  material  impervious  to  moisture 
and  with  a  smooth  surface.  Such  material  may  be  asphalt,  non- 
absorbent  cement,  tile,  glazed  brick  or  other  water-proof  material. 
Where  more  than  one  water-closet  is  installed  in  a  toilet  room,  par- 
titions not  less  than  six  feet  and  not  more  than  seven  feet  in  height 
should  be  provided  between  each  closet.  A  space  of  six  to  fourteen 
inches  should  be  left  between  the  floor  and  the  bottom  of  such 
partitions.  All  toilet  rooms  should  have  a  window  or  windows 
opening  to  the  outer  air.  Where  this  is  impossible,  the  toilet  room 
should  be  ventilated  by  means  of  shafts  of  sufficient  dimensions 
and  height  to  carry  away  the  foul  air  from  the  room.  Each  toilet 
room  should  be  lighted  by  means  of  windows  or  artificial  illumina- 
tion and  properly  heated.  Walls  and  ceilings  should  be  painted 
a  light  color  and  frequently  washed  and  cleaned.  It  is  best  to 
employ  a  special  caretaker  for  cleaning  the  water-closets.  Sani- 
tary codes  prohibit  the  use  of  trough  water-closets,  latrine  or  school 
sinks,  and  require  individual  water-closets  with  flush  rim  bowls 
made  of  vitrified  glazed  earthenware,  set  entirely  free  and  open 
without  any  enclosing  woodwork. 

Every  water-closet  should  be  installed  with  connections  through 
the  floor  and  should  be  set  on  a  floor  slab  of  slate  or  other  material 
impervious  to  moisture,  not  less  in  size  than  the  base  of  the  water- 
closet  set  thereon.  An  evenly  laid  and  solidly  tiled  flooring  on  a 
strictly  fireproof  floor  construction  is  better,  provided  a  suitable 
template  of  slate  or  marble  of  the  full  size  of  the  floor  flange  is  in- 
tailed  to  furnish  a  solid  bearing  for  the  fixture.  Every  bowl 
installed  must  be  so  constructed  that  the  space  behind  and  below 
may  be  easily  cleaned.  The  seat  of  every  water-closet  should  be 
made  of  wood  or  other  non-conducting  material  and  finished  with 
varnish  or  other  substance  which  will  make  it  impervious  to  mois- 
ture. Every  water-closet  or  group  of  water-closets  must  be  flushed 
from  a  separate  water  supply  cistern,  the  water  from  which  is  used 
for  no  other  purpose,  connected  so  as  to  keep  the  water  supply 
free  from  contamination.  Flushing  cisterns  usually  have  a  capac- 
ity of  at  least  eight  gallons  and  are  so  constructed  as  to  use  not 
less  than  three  gallons  of  water  at  each  discharge.  The  discharge 
must  be  of  sufficient  force  to  clean  the  bowl  at  each  flush.  Long 
hopper  closets,  the  so-called  Philadelphia  hopper  type,  as  well  as 
the  pan,  plunger  and  offset  closets  should  not  be  used.  There  is 
much  objection  to  the  use  of  range  closets,  and  it  is  best  to  provide 


FACTOEY  SANITATION  279 

individual  closets  in  all  factories  where  this  is  possible.  Where 
range  closets  must  be  used,  separate  bowls  should  be  installed  and 
not  more  than  ten  bowls  supplied  from  every  flush  tank.  The 
bowls  should  be  separated  by  partitions  and  the  range  closets  auto- 
matically flushed  at  intervals  of  not  more  than  one  hour  with  a  flush 
sufficient  to  remove  the  entire  contents.  In  some  factories  the 
flush  is  operated  by  the  opening  or  closing  of  the  door  of  each  com- 
partment or  by  the  raising  of  the  seat  of  the  closet.  These  con- 


Courtesy  Standard  Sanitary  Mfg.  Co.,  Pittsburgh. 

A  Sanitary  Urinal. 

trivances  are*  installed  to  obviate  the  results  of  neglect  on  the  part 
of  the  worker  to  pull  the  chain  or  lever  of  the  flushing  tank.  In  a 
number  of  modern  factories  flushometers  are  installed  and  used 
with  good  results.  These  flushometers  are  only  of  value  when 
the  water  pressure  in  the  pipes  is  more  than  twenty-five  pounds; 
otherwise  flushing  tanks  should  be  insisted  upon. 

Urinals  should  be  provided  on  every  floor  where  a  large  number 
of  male  employes  are  at  work.  These  fixtures  should  be  made  of 
a  material  which  is  non-corrosive  and  impervious  to  moisture.  All 
urinals  made  of  cast  iron  or  galvanized  iron  or  sheet  metal  should 
be  discarded,  and  replaced  by  urinals  made  of  porcelain  or  smooth 


280 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


FACTORY  SANITATION  281 

earthenware  material.  The  sides,  back,  base  and  floor  of  urinals 
should  be  impervious  to  moisture,  and  made  of  slate  or  tile. 
Urinals  should  be  flushed  in  the  same  manner  as  water-closet  flush 
tanks. 

The  number  of  urinals  and  water-closets  which  should  be  pro- 
vided in  a  factory  is  important.  Most  of  the  codes  in  European 
countries  as  well  as  in  different  states  in  this  country  provide  for 
a  ratio  of  twenty-five  workers  to  one  water-closet  fixture.  Some 
codes  require  one  fixture  for  20  males  or  15  females.  In  view  of 
the  fact  that  a  fixture  is  not  used  more  than  from  three  to  four 
times  a  day  by  each  employe,  the  above  ratio  seems  to  be  ade- 
quate for  all  ordinary  purposes;  and  there  is  no  necessity  for 
any  larger  proportion  of  fixtures,  the  more  so  that  with  every 
increase  in  the  number  of  fixtures  there  is  increased  probability  of 
their  abuse  and  contamination. 

Of  greater  importance  than  the  number  of  fixtures  are  pro- 
visions for  their  cleanliness.  In  large  establishments  a  special 
person  should  be  engaged  to  supervise  the  cleaning  of  these  rooms 
and  fixtures.  It  would  perhaps  also  be  advisable  to  provide  in 
every  toilet  room  used  for  females,  a  supply  of  sanitary  napkins 
and  also  a  receptacle  for  these  to  be  thrown  into.  A  sufficient 
supply  of  paper  should  also  be  provided. 

Lunch  Rooms.  Most  of  the  industrial  codes  require  a  pause 
of  from  forty-five  to  sixty  minutes  during  noon  hour,  but  no  pro- 
vision is  made  for  a  place  within  the  factory  where  the  employes 
may  eat  their  midday  lunch.  The  consequence  of  this  omission 
in  the  factory  laws  is  that  workers  eat  their  lunch  at  the  machine 
tables,  very  often  with  soiled  hands,  and  often  soil  the  materials 
with  which  they  work,  leaving  crumbs  and  parts  of  vegetables, 
fruit  and  other  organic  matter  around  tables,  chairs,  and  work 
places.  Where  there  is  much  dust  or  where  poisonous  materials 
are  being  worked  with,  the  eating  of  lunch  within  the  shop  is  inju- 
rious to  health  and  may  cause  disease.  Some  industrial  codes  insist 
upon  separate  lunch  rooms  in  certain  dangerous  trades.  In  a  num- 
ber of  establishments  the  employers  have  voluntarily  provided 
lunch  places,  although  the  location  of  such  places  is  often  poor 
and  the  condition  in  which  they  are  kept  is  at  times  very  bad.  In 
a  large  cordage  mill  in  Central  New  York,  belonging  to  a  big  cor- 
poration, I  found  the  restaurant  or  lunch  room  located  in  a  corner 
of  a  semi-dark  basement.  The  firm  complained  that  the  lunch 
room  was  not  appreciated  and  not  used  by  their  employes,  and  were 


282  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

rather  indignant  at  my  remark  that  I  did  not  blame  the  workers 
for  refusing  to  use  such  a  lunch  room. 

Sewage  Disposal.  Where  there  is  no  general  sewage  system, 
the  problem  of  efficient  disposal  of  sewage  is  often  very  difficult 
of  solution.  As  most  factories  established  in  such  localities  are 
constructed  on  a  large  scale,  effective  and  efficient  methods  of 
sewage  disposal  should  be  installed  at  the  same  time  that  the 
factory  is  constructed. 

No  factory  in  which  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  workers  are  em- 
ployed should  resort  to  the  use  of  the  old  time  privies  and  cesspools 
for  sewage  disposal.  In  its  primitive  and  common  form  the  privy- 
vault  is  nothing  but  a  hole  dug  in  the  ground  near  or  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  house;  the  hole  is  but  a  few  feet  deep,  with  a  plank 
or  rough  seat  over  it,  and  an  improvised  shed  over  that.  The  privy 
is  filled  with  the  excreta;  the  liquids  drain  into  the  adjacent  ground, 
which  becomes  saturated  and  contaminates  the  nearest  wells  and 
water  courses.  The  solid  portion  is  left  to  accumulate  until  the  hole 
is  filled  or  the  stench  becomes  unbearable,  then  the  hole  is  either 
covered  up  and  forgotten,  or  the  excreta  removed  and  the  privy 
is  used  again.  This  is  the  privy  system  so  often  found  near  the 
cottages  and  mansions  of  our  rural  populace,  and  even  in  towns. 
The  terrible  ravages  of  the  hook-worm  disease  in  the  South  are 
mainly  due  to  soil  pollution  from  unsanitary  privies. 

The  principal  parts  of  a  privy  are:  the  shed,  the  seat,  and  the 
receptacle  into  which  the  excreta  is  dropped.  The  shed  in  a  san- 
itary privy  should  be  made  of  tightly  fitted  boards  with  windows 
properly  screened  and  doors  well  closed  in  order  to  prevent  insects 
and  flies  from  gaining  access.  The  seat  should  be  so  arranged  as 
to  be  convenient  for  use  and  should  be  free  from  the  contamination 
of  excreta.  The  receptacle,  or  the  place  into  which  the  sewage 
is  dropped,  should  be  made  water-tight  by  being  lined  with  cement 
or  some  other  non-absorbent  material.  The  sewage  when  dropped 
into  this  water-tight  receptacle  will  remain  there  and  must  be 
removed  from  time  to  time.  A  still  better  method  is  to  place  in 
such  water-tight  receptacles  a  tight  portable  pail  which  is  hung 
on  a  hook  from  the  seat.  The  sewage  is  dropped  directly  into  the 
pail,  which  may  be  removed  as  soon  as  it  fills  up,  the  sewage  being 
cremated  or  disinfected  and  the  pail  cleansed,  washed  and  disin- 
fected and  returned  to  its  place.  For  the  purpose  of  removing 
these  pails  and  cleaning  the  vault  beneath  the  privy,  each  part  of  the 
privy  should  be  provided  with  a  sling  cover  so  as  to  be  accessible. 


FACTORY  SANITATION  283 

Cesspools  may  be  used  when  there  are  no  sewers  and  the  factory 
is  provided  with  fixtures  and  pipes  to  carry  the  sewage  outside 
to  a  point  sufficiently  distant  from  the  factory.  "  Leeching  "  cess- 
pools which  allow  liquids  to  drain  into  the  ground  are  open  to  the 
same  objections  as  privy-vaults.  When  cesspools  are  water-tight 
they  must  be  emptied  at  periodical  intervals  or  provided  with 
automatic  ejectors  and  siphon  apparatus  to  discharge  the  contents. 

It  is  much  better  for  industrial  establishments  to  discard  the 
use  of  privy  vaults  and  cesspools  and  to  employ  one  of  the  modern 
methods  of  sewage  disposal  through  chemical  and  biological  treat- 
ment. The  accumulation  of  the  sewage  matter  collected  in  cess- 
pools or  tanks  may  be  disposed  of  either  by  irrigation  of  nearby 
lands  through  a  system  of  underground  earthenware  pipes  or  through 
chemical  precipitation  and  filtering  and  separating  the  solid  mat- 
ter, which  is  then  either  destroyed  by  burning,  or  is  utilized  for 
fertilizing  purposes.  The  new  bacterial  treatment  of  sewage  may 
also  be  resorted  to,  as  it  is  at  present  being  introduced  into  the 
sewage  disposal  systems  in  a  great  many  towns  and  cities. 

Noises,  Odors,  Smoke,  Gases  and  Fumes.  Certain  industrial 
plants  frequently  become  a  menace  to  the  comfort  and  health  of 
the  neighborhood  and  are  regarded  in  municipal  and  sanitary  codes 
as  "  public  nuisances."  The  nuisance  caused  by  these  factories  is 
due  either  to  excessive  noise,  or  smoke  or  bad  odors  or  to  gases  and 
fumes  given  off  from  their  chimneys,  which  are  sometimes  harmful 
to  health  as  well  as  injurious  to  the  vegetation  around  the  factories. 

There  are  some  factories  whose  rumbling  noise  may  be  heard 
for  half  a  mile.  Boiler  factories  and  other  metal-working  establish- 
ments are  especially  noisy.  The  noisiest  factory  I  ever  visited  was 
the  cutlery  factory  of  the  famous  Henkel  Bros.,  in  Solingen,  Ger- 
many, an  establishment  which  has  been  in  existence  for  several 
centuries.  The  noise  in  one  department  of  that  factory  was  so 
terrific  that  it  could  be  distinctly  heard  half  a  mile  from  the  place, 
although  the  whole  city  of  Solingen  is  full  of  cutlery  factories,  and 
the  general  noise  produced  by  them  is  great  enough.  I  was  told 
that  every  worker  in  this  branch  of  the  factory  becomes  deaf  a 
short  time  after  beginning  to  work  there. 

The  methods  of  lessening  noise  present  a  technical  problem, 
which  may  be  solved  in  many  factories.  Where  excessive  noise 
becomes  a  public  nuisance,  municipal  regulations  require  plants 
causing  it  to  be  maintained  outside  of  the  city  limits  and  at  a  dis- 
tance from  human  habitations. 


284  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  black  smoke  belched  from  the  chimneys  of  industrial  plants 
using  soft  coal  is  apt  to  be  injurious  to  the  vegetation  as  well  as  to 
the  inhabitants  of  nearby  villages  and  cities.  The  composition 
of  smoke  as  it  leaves  the  chimney  depends  upon  the  character  of 
the  fuel  burned  as  well  as  the  methods  of  combustion.  Black 
smoke  consists  of  carbon  mechanically  suspended,  and  also  of  gases 
such  as  carbonic  acid,  carbonic  oxide  and  hydrogen  sulphide.  Wood 
and  bituminous  coal  give  off  very  abundant  black  smoke.  When 
furnaces  are  of  adequate  capacity,  with  grates  having  a  large  area, 
with  coal  spread  in  a  thin  continuous  sheet,  supplied  with  the  re- 
quisite amount  of  air,  the  production  of  smoke  is  greatly  diminished. 
Other  remedies  for  preventing  factory  smoke  are  the  construction 
of  very  tall  chimneys,  and  the  use  of  smoke-consuming  devices. 
There  are  a  number  of  patent  smoke-consuming  appliances,  most 
of  them  based  on  the  principle  of  a  more  thorough  and  complete 
combustion  of  all  the  particles  of  carbon  in  the  fuel.  The  better 
the  combustion  within  the  furnace,  the  less  will  be  the  waste  and 
smoke  from  the  chimney. 

A  number  of  manufacturing  plants  emit  foul  or  offensive  odors, 
which  are  at  times  harmful  and  at  all  times  unpleasant  and  inter- 
fere with  the  comfort  and  health  of  the  neighboring  inhabitants. 
These  odors  are  due  either  to  decomposed  organic  matter  or  to 
chemical  dust,  gases  and  fumes,  which  may  be  still  more  unpleasant 
and  harmful.  Organic  odors  are  perceptible  in  establishments 
where  animal  substances  are  utilized;  such  as  slaughtering  houses, 
fat  rendering  establishments,  soap-making  factories,  tanning  of 
hides,  manufacture  and  utilization  of  animal  substances,  manufac- 
ture of  vegetable  substances,  etc.  In  the  manufacture  of  illumin- 
ating gas,  alkalies,  ammonia,  bleaching  powder,  soda,  glass,  smelting, 
lead  paint,  drug  manufacture,  etc.,  odors,  gases  and  vapors  often 
escape  and  become  offensive. 

To  prevent  the  nuisance  caused  by  such  offensive  trades  a 
thorough  study  must  be  made  of  each  separate  process  in  each 
manufacturing  plant.  Methods  of  prevention  may  be  summarized 
as  follows:  (1)  general  cleanliness;  (2)  removal  of  all  noxious 
matter  by  either  destroying  or  utilizing  same;  (3)  storage  of  all 
offensive  materials  in  closed  and  tight  vessels;  (4)  substitution  for 
offensive  processes  of  less  offensive  ones;  (5)  the  use  of  plenty  of 
water  to  insure  cleanliness  and  drainage;  and  (6)  the  destruction 
of  all  offensive  odors,  etc.,  by  passage  through  condensers  and 
thence  into  fire  pits  where  they  are  consumed. 


FACTORY  SANITATION  285 

The  prevention  of  gases  and  fumes  may  be  accomplished  by 
some  of  these  methods,  or  by  dilution  of  the  gases  and  fumes  with 
air,  condensation  of  the  gases  by  passing  them  once  or  several 
times  through  condensers  filled  with  water  or  through  scrubbers 
filled  with  wet  coke;  and  by  absorption  of  all  gases  in  fire  pits  where 
they  are  destroyed  by  the  action  of  fire  or  by  passing  them  through 
neutralizing  substances  which  differ  for  each  gas  or  fume. 

Disposal  of  Factory  Wastes.  Besides  the  wastes  which  have 
already  been  referred  to,  there  is,  in  many  manufacturing  establish- 
ments other  industrial,  waste  either  in  solid,  semi-solid  or  liquid 
form.  When  waste  is  in  solid  form,  its  removal,  destruction  or 
utilization  is  not  difficult  when  the  means  of  transportation  and 
utilization  are  at  hand.  It  may  also  be  burnt  in  special  incinerators. 

A  more  difficult  problem  is  presented  by  semi-solid  and  liquid 
industrial  wastes.  The  cheapest  and  most  common  method  of 
disposing  of  such  wastes  is  by  sludging  them  into  nearby  lakes, 
rivers  and  water  courses.  That  such  practice  is  very  objectionable 
is  attested  by  the  protests  which  have  been  made  by  villages,  towns 
and  communities  on  or  near  the  lakes,  rivers  or  water  courses, 
and  by  the  appointment  by  various  governments  of  commissions  to 
investigate  river  pollution  and  to  find  remedies  for  the  abatement 
of  this  nuisance.  So  great  is  the  pollution  of  streams  by  manufac- 
turing waste,  that  practically  every  community  prohibits  the  dis- 
posal of  industrial  wastes  into  water  courses  which  are  needed 
for  bathing  and  drinking  purposes. 

The  pollution  of  rivers  is  especially  objectionable  in  the  case  of 
factories  which  discharge  organic  matter  and  poisonous  materials 
into  the  water  courses.  Among  the  industrial  establishments  which 
usually  have  offensive  waste  are  woolen  mill  factories,  tanning  and 
fellmongering,  brewing  and  distilling,  bleaching  and  dying,  paper 
making,  aniline  color  works,  dyeing  establishments,  general  chemical 
works,  etc.  All  these  industrial  establishments  send  out  large  vol- 
umes of  foul  and  offensive  waste,  which  contaminates  and  pollutes 
the  waters  of  rivers  and  lakes. 

The  proper  disposal  and  treatment  of  factory  wastes  is  a  mechan- 
ical, chemical  and  biological  problem  which  must  be  solved  by  differ- 
ent methods  in  each  industrial  establishment,  according  to  the  mate- 
rials used  and  wastes  produced.  The  following  are  the  principal 
methods  used  for  this  purpose:  the  liquid  or  semi-liquid  wastes  are 
reduced  in  volume  by  separation,  sedimentation,  settling,  straining 
or  filtering.  The  liquid  wastes  are  separated  from  the  semi-solid 


286  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

and  solid  constituents,  and  if  the  liquid  wastes  have  no  deleterious 
matter  in  solution  they  may  be  discharged  into  nearby  water  courses. 
The  semi-solid  or  solid  wastes  may  be  reduced  in  volume  by  press- 
ing and  may  be  destroyed  by  heat  or  utilized  in  some  other  form. 
It  is  possible  also  to  treat  waste  chemically  by  neutralization. 


CHAPTER  VII 
EMPLOYERS'    WELFARE   WORK 


THIS  is  an  era  of  industrial  welfare  work.  We  hear  of  welfare 
work  in  every  industry,  in  almost  every  factory,  in  every  state  and 
in  every  country.  Employers  boast  of  the  welfare  work  in  their 
shops,  the  workers  discuss  the  forms  of  welfare  activities  carried 
on  in  the  industrial  establishments  in  which  they  work.  The 
National  Manufacturers'  Association  devotes  a  great  part  of  its 
activities  to  the  discussion  of  the  benefits  of  welfare  work.  The 
National  Civic  Federation  has  a  special  department  on  welfare 
work.  There  have  been  many  exhibitions  of  welfare  work — national 
and  international. 

There  is  as  yet  great  confusion  in  regard  to  the  conception  and 
definition  of  welfare  work.  What  is  welfare  work  and  what  is 
it  not?  Where  does  it  begin  and  where  does  it  end?  An  employer 
who  introduces  some  new  system  of  wage  payment  by  which 
he  gives  one  penny  bonus  for  every  ten  cents  additional  work  done 
by  his  employes,  regards  this  as  welfare  work.  As  welfare  work  is 
also  regarded  the  increase  by  another  employer  of  the  wages  of 
more  than  ten  thousand  employes  from  an  average  of  less  than 
$2.50  per  day  to  a  flat  rate  of  five  dollars  per  day.  Any  improve- 
ment in  the  factory  may  be  called  welfare  work  from  simple  arrange- 
ments for  light  and  cleanliness  in  the  workrooms,  which  scarcely 
conform  to  the  minimum  required  by  law,  up  to  the  most  elaborate 
systems  for  providing  rest,  food,  shelter,  education,  insurance, 
old  age  pensions,  etc.,  which  in  fact  take  charge  of  every  waking 
and  sleeping  moment  of  the  worker  from  the  time  he  enters  the 
factory  until  his  death,  and  pursue  him  even  afterwards  in  the 
shape  of  pensions,  benefits  and  supervision  of  his  family. 

In  the  multiplicity  of  forms  in  which  welfare  work  appears 
and  in  'the  great  extent  of  undertakings  and  institutions  created 
for  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  workingmen  and  of  the 

287 


288  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

working  class,  thefe  is  urgent  need  of  a  criterion  by  which  all  these 
efforts  for  the  industrial  welfare  of  the  worker  may  be  judged  and  by 
which  their  forms  and  aspects  may  be  clearly  denned. 

In  denning  welfare  work,  it  is  necessary  to  exclude  all  those 
activities  which  are  really  outside  its  scope  and  real  intention. 
Only  employers'  welfare  work  will  be  considered  in  this  chapter.- 
This  excludes  all  improvements  of  working  conditions  undertaken 
by  the  state,  by  municipalities  or  by  private  social  organizations, 
such  as  municipal  housing,  tenement  inspection,  parks,  playgrounds 
and  municipal  bath  houses  which  are  provided  for  the  whole 
population. 

We  also  exclude  from  welfare  work  any  efforts  made  by  the 
workers  themselves  for  their  own  improvement.  Such  efforts, 
whether  they  appear  in  the  simple  form  of  libraries,  or  cooperative 
societies,  etc.,  are  clearly  outside  of  the  sphere  of  welfare  work, 
which  is  done  by  the  employers  themselves. 

We  also  exclude  all  those  forms  of  industrial  improvement 
which  the  employers  are  compelled  to  introduce  into  their  indus- 
trial establishments  by  the  state  or  municipality  or  their  own  trade 
associations.  Thus  the  minimum  sanitary  and  industrial  standards 
established  by  legislation  cannot  be  included  in  the  conception  of 
employers'  welfare  work.  Under  this  limitation  what  is  termed 
welfare  work  in  one  state  may  not  be  welfare  work  in  another  state. 
For  instance,  the  backing  of  chairs  in  a  factory  is  regarded  as  wel- 
fare work  in  all  those  states  and  countries  where  this  is  not  one  of 
the  provisions  of  the  labor  code;  while  it  is  merely  a  legal  stand- 
ard where  it  is  found  on  the  statute  books.  The  granting  by  the 
employer  of  an  hour  and  a  half  pause  during  the  day  (an  hour  dur- 
ing noon  and  a  quarter  hour  each  in  the  forenoon  and  afternoon) 
is  regarded  as  welfare  work  in  the  United  States,  but  not  in  certain 
European  countries  where  this  is  the  legal  standard  for  women 
and  minors. 

The  next  important  limitation  of  welfare  work  is  its  aim  and 
purpose.  We  limit  the  definition  of  welfare  work  to  that  which 
is  done  for  the  sole  purpose,  or,  at  least,  in  a  large  measure,  for  the ' 
benefit  of  the  workers  themselves.  W^e  cannot,  for  instance,  regard 
as  welfare  work  the  installation  of  a  mechanical  ventilating  plant 
by  a  film  factory  in  their  film  department,  where  this  is  done 
because  of  the  necessity  for  excluding  dust  and  not  primarily  for 
the  benefit  of  the  health  of  the  employes;  even  though  they  may 
be  benefited  secondarily.  That  the  installation  was  not  for  the 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          289 

benefit  of  the  workers,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  no  mechanical 
ventilation  of  this  kind  was  installed  or  maintained  in  the  other 
departments  of  the  factory. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  mere  fact  that  the  installation  of  an 
industrial  improvement  results  in  benefit  to  the  employer  himself 
by  increasing  the  efficiency  or  health  of  his  workers,  does  not  exclude 
certain  activities  from  being  regarded  as  welfare  work.  Thus, 
for  instance,  the  fact  that  the  eight-hour  workday,  when  intro- 
duced in  the  Zeiss  Works  resulted  in  an  increased  output,  does  not 
exclude  the  eight-hour  workday  from  the  category  of  welfare  work; 
nor  will  Ford's  attempt  to  introduce  an  eight-hour  shift  fail  to  be 
regarded  as  welfare  work  because  it  has  already  shown  an  increase 
in  the  output  in  the  factory  and  a  greater  efficiency  in  the  works. 
The  chief  criterion  in  judging  industrial  improvements  voluntarily 
introduced  by  employers  should  be  whether  the  general  purpose 
is  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  workers  rather  than 
increase  in  production. 

Finally,  the  term  welfare  work  must  be  limited  to  all  such 
activities  as  are  instituted  by  employers  for  their  own  workers  and 
their  immediate, families;  for  it  is  evident  that  all  work  done  by 
employers  for  workers  of  other  establishments  or  for  the  general 
public  is  social  welfare  work  arid  not  employers'  welfare  work. 

The  definition,  therefore,  of  welfare  work  to  which  we  shall 
limit  ourselves  is  the  following:  All  devices,  appliances,  activities, 
and  institutions  voluntarily  created  and  maintained  by  employers 
for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  economic,  physical,  intellectual  or 
social  conditions  of  the  workers  in  their  industrial  establishments. 

Why  do  employers  voluntarily  undertake  welfare  work?  What 
are  their  motives?  What  are  the  principles  by  which  employers 
are  guided  in  their  attempts  at  improving  the  conditions  of  the 
workers?  Is  the  large  increase  of  welfare  work  in  modern  industry 
due  to  the  moral  awakening  of  the  rich,  to  the  increase  in  the  philan- 
thropic spirit  of  the  class  of  employers,  or  is  it  due  to  the  fear  of  a 
social  upheaval,  to  the  dread  of  organized  labor,  to  the  terror  of  the 
spectre  of  the  coming  social  revolution?  Are  the  motives  back  of 
welfare  work  pure  philanthropy,  or  pure  selfishness  and  desire  for 
efficiency;  or  are  they  inspired  by  the  recognition  of  the  principles 
of  industrial  justice? 

The  earliest  examples  of  welfare  work  were  simply  an  expression 
of  the  feeling  of  responsibility  and  kindliness  of  the  employer  toward 
his  working  people.  It  was  an  extension  of  the  friendly  relations 


290  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

that  existed  in  the  small  workshop  between  the  master  who  worked 
with  his  hands  as  well  as  directed  his  workers.  It  was  natural 
for  some  employers  in  the  earlier  factories  to  have  intimate  rela- 
tions with  their  workmen,  to  feel  a  deep  interest  in  their  welfare 
and  to  do  everything  possible  to  improve  their  conditions.  Hence, 
from  the  time  of  Robert  Owen,  who  was  the  first  to  introduce  exten- 
sive economic,  educational  and  general  welfare  work  in  his  mills 
at  New  Lanark,  down  to  the  present  time,  much  welfare  work  is 
due  to  this  benevolent  spirit  of  the  employer. 

The  philanthropic  motive  for  welfare  work  was  probably  the 
dominating  one  at  the  beginning  of  the  modern  factory  system  dur- 
ing the  period  when  the  employing  class  as  a  whole  strictly  adhered 
to  the  laisser  faire  policy,  but  this  motive  gradually  diminished  in 
strength  with  the  rise  and  growth  of  corporations,  trusts  and  monop- 
olies, when  the  actual  employers  and  owners  hardly  ever  saw  their 
factories  or  knew  the  workers  in  them. 

Undoubtedly,  in  the  motives  for  welfare  work,  especially  that 
done  by  large  corporations,  an  element  of  fear  is  present.  The  spread 
of  labor  unionism,  the  rise  and  growth  of  radical  and  socialistic 
political  parties,  the  awakening  of  class  consciousness  among  the 
working  people,  the  bitter  strikes,  lockouts  and  labor  wars  so  frequent 
within  late  years  undoubtedly  operate  strongly  for  the  introduction 
by  large  and  powerful  corporations  of  certain  forms  of  industrial 
welfare  activity. 

The  third  motive  for  industrial  welfare  work,  is  so-called  "  effi- 
ciency." By  this  is  meant  the  fact  that  most,  if  not  all,  of  the 
improvements  which  are  voluntarily  made  by  employers  for  the 
benefit  of  their  workers  more  than  pay  for  themselves  through 
increased  efficiency  of  the  workers  and  increased  output.  Efficiency 
engineers  and  employers  now  assert  that  they  undertake  welfare 
work  not  through  charity  or  fear,  but  because  it  pays. 

The  general  manager  of  the  International  Harvester  Company, 
in  speaking  to  his  welfare  board,  said  that  he  held  them  responsible 
to  the  management  "  not  for  sentimental  results  or  for  actions 
outside  of  the  scope  of  pure  business,  but  for  results  inside  the 
scope  of  pure  business,  which  will  make  the  company  a  leader  among 
industrial  corporations." 

Welfare  work  not  only  pays,  but  pays  especially  because  it 
prevents  labor  disputes.  Under  the  title  "  Welfare  Work  as  a 
Way  to  Prevent  Labor  Disputes,"  a  writer  in  the  American  Academy 
of  Political  Science  discusses  the  part  played  by  welfare  work  in 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          291 

keeping  the  workers  at  the  Winifrede  Mine  in  the  Kanawah  district 
loyal  to  the  employer  when  the  rest  of  the  miners  in  neighbor- 
ing districts  went  on  strike.  It  is  also  said  that  the  employes  of 
the  McCormick  plant  of  the  International  Harvester  Company 
refused  to  strike  when  the  operatives  of  the  Deering  works  struck, 
because  of  the  extensive  welfare  work  in  the  former  plant.  Many 
employers  when  writing  or  speaking  of  their  welfare  work  to  other 
employers  of  labor  repeatedly  assert  that  their  welfare  work  pays 
because  their  workers  do  not  usually  join  labor  unions  and  are  less 
willing  to  strike  or  make  "  trouble." 

Finally,  the  fourth  motive  for  welfare  work,  that  of  "  industrial 
justice,"  is  at  present  gaining  more  and  more  ground  and  is  spread- 
ing among  the  better  class  of  employers.  Many  employers  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  present  wage  system  is  unjust  to 
the  workers  and  results  in  much  hardship,  and  that  it  is  their 
duty  as  a  class  to  do  everything  within  their  power  to  make  some 
return  to  the  workers  and  to  improve  their  condition.  This  new 
policy  of  the  "  square  deal/'  and  industrial  justice  is  already  be- 
coming a  basic  principle  in  the  platforms  of  great  political  parties 
and  is  probably  destined  in  time  to  dominate  all  other  motives  for 
welfare  work. 

The  introduction  and  extension  of  employers'  welfare  work 
has  not  been  accomplished  without  much  opposition,  some  of  it 
from  political  economists  and  philosophers,  some  from  employers, 
and  much  from  the  workers  and  the  leaders  of  labor  organi- 
zations. 

It  is  but  natural  that  the  old  time  economists,  who  opposed 
state  interference  and  paternal  government,  should  object  to  all 
voluntary  efforts  by  employers  to  give  their  employes  anything 
to  which  they  are  not  entitled  by  law  or  by  economic  deter- 
minism. 

Nor  do  all  employers  favor  welfare  work.  Some  are  opposed  to 
the  efforts  of  neighboring  employers  because  it  sets  a  "  bad  example  " 
to  their  own  workers,  and  makes  them  demand  things  to  which 
they  are  not  entitled.  Others  express  themselves  as  opposed  to 
the  extension  of  welfare  work  because  "  we  do  not  believe  it  helps 
the  man  to  give  him  something  for  nothing,  nor  do  we  believe  he 
wants  it.  The  men  rather  resent  it."  "  We  believe  in  giving  a 
man  a  chance  to  earn  his  own  recreations,"  said  one  employer.  "  We 
have  regulated  our  relations  with  our  employes  on  the  principle 
of  doing  what  logically  belongs  to  the  relation  of  employer  and 


292  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

employe.  We  believe  that  there  are  few  employers  who  can  safely 
go  into  the  private  lives  of  their  people.''  * 

Of  greater  consequence  is  the  undoubted  opposition  to  welfare 
work  which  is  so  prevalent  among  the  working  people  themselves, 
and  especially  among  the  members  of  labor  unions,  and  those  engaged 
in  socialistic  propaganda  among  the  workmen.  Indeed,  the  atti- 
tude of  organized  labor  toward  all  welfare  work  is  more  than  indif- 
ferent— it  is  largely  hostile. 

What  are  the  objections  made  by  workers  and  their  represent- 
atives to  welfare  work  and  upon  what  are  they  based? 

In  the  first  place,  their  opposition  is  based  upon  the  fact  that 
most,  if  not  all,  welfare  work  is  paternalistic,  is  given  in  the  form 
of  charity,  is  degrading  and  tends  to  enslave  the  people.  It  is 
that  tendency  of  human  nature  to  look  the  gift  horse  in  the  mouth 
and  the  one  which  is  so  well  expressed  in  the  proverb  "  timeo  Danaos 
et  dona  ferentes "  (though  they  bear  gifts,  yet  do  I  fear  the 
Greeks) . 

The  second  objection  which  the  representatives  of  the  working 
class  have  to  welfare  work  is  the  motive  which  they  think  is  behind 
it  all.  Rightly  or  wrongly,  they  assert  that  the  usual  motive  of 
the  employer  in  introducing  welfare  work  in  his  shop  is  not  the  real 
benefit  of  his  working  people  but  is  usually  his  own  aggrandise- 
ment, the  advertising  which  he  receives  because  of  his  benevolence, 
the  political  preferment  that  a  benevolent  employer  is  apt  to 
obtain  or  even  the  very  efficiency  and  increase  in  the  profits  which 
many  of  the  employers  themselves  admit  is  one  of  their  most  fre- 
quent motives. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  point  in  the  opposition  of  the 
workers  to  welfare  work  is  the  fact  that  its  promoters  seem  to  be 
opposed  to  labor  organization,  and  seek  to  prevent  combination, 
strikes  and  increase  of  unionism  among  workers.  This  view  is  justi- 
fied by  the  well  known  hostility  to  unionism  of  the  great  corpora- 
tions which  are  famous  for  their  welfare  work  and  their  utter  dis- 
regard of  the  principles  of  freedom  of  organization  among  their 
workers.  Only  two  notable  examples  need  be  cited  here.  Perhaps 
the  greatest  activities  in  welfare  work  in  Germany  are  performed 
by  the  Bayer  Chemical  Corporation  at  Elberfeld  and  Leverkussen. 
Here  practically  all  forms  of  welfare  work  are  done  on  an  extensive 
scale,  and  the  general  condition  of  the  workers  is  probably  better 
than  in  any  other  industrial  center  in  Germany;  and  yet  I  was 

*  Tolman,  W.  H. : ;<  Social  Engineering,"  pp.  360-361. 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          293 

personally  told  by  an  official  of  this  corporation  while  inspecting 
their  factory,  that  they  not  only  discourage  unionism  and  labor 
organizations  among  their  workers,  but  discharge  every  employe 
in  their  works  who  advocates  unionism  or  attempts  to  organize  his 
fellow  workers. 

The  other  example  is  that  of  the  Ford  Automobile  Company 
which,  by  its  recent  doubling  of  wages,  has  created  so  much  discus- 
sion. In  a  magazine  article  the  fact  is  noted  that  Ford  is  strenu- 
ously opposed  to  unionism  among  his  workers,  and  that  ninety 
men  in  one  department  who  were  reported  to  him  as  attempting 
to  organize  were  discharged.*  The  hostility  to  labor  organizations 
of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation,  the  best  recent  exponent 
of  welfare  work  in  the  United  States,  is  also  well  known. 

The  workers  also  claim  that  welfare  work  tends  to  lower  wages 
and  has  a  tendency  to  shackle  labor  with  gratitude  and  diminish 
its  freedom  in  the  bargaining  process.  Organized  labor  holds  that 
questions  of  hours  and  wages  are  of  first  importance  and  that  much 
of  welfare  work  with  its  emphasis  on  rest  and  recreational  facili- 
ties, on  libraries  and  lunch  rooms,  is  beside  the  point.  At  any  rate 
they  are  not  willing  to  accept  it  as  a  substitute  for  trade  union 
action  leading  to  shorter  hours  and  higher  standards  of  wages. 
In  many  cases  the  workers  feel  that  welfare  work  of  certain  kinds 
has  been  undertaken  at  the  expense  of  wages.  This  feeling  is  quite 
general  among  organized  and  unorganized  workers.  The  workers 
in  a  certain  collar  factory  in  Troy  assert  that  every  improvement 
in  sanitation  or  ventilation  in  the  factory  has  been  followed  by  a 
cut  in  wages.  It  is  certain  that  wages  in  collar  factories  in  Troy 
have  been  continually  cut  during  the  past  eight  years,  and  that  at 
the  same  time,  together  with  cuts  in  wages,  much  welfare  work  has 
been  instituted.  Of  course,  the  workers  regard  this  probable  coin- 
cidence in  the  nature  of  cause  and  effect. 

Another  objection  against  welfare  work  is  that  most  of  this  work 
does  not  result  in  economic  betterment  but  tends  rather  to  sani- 
tary and  so-called  social  and  moral  improvement.  The  workmen 
resent  such  activities  because  they  feel  that  if  they  are  given  reason- 
able hours  and  decent  wages  and  the  minimum  requirements  for 
sanitary  conditions  in  the  factory,  they  can  take  care  of  the  social, 
intellectual  and  moral  sides  of  their  lives  themselves.  In  a  small 
manufacturing  town  in  Pennsylvania  dominated  largely  by  a  great 
industrial  corporation,  the  management  donated  to  the  workers 

*  Everybody's  for  April,  1914. 


294  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

a  handsome  library,  well  equipped,  which  cost  about  $20,000. 
The  workers,  instead  of  using  this  library,  collected  a  fund  of  their 
own  of  $8,000  and  established  their  own  library. 

The  same  kind  of  opposition  exists  in  regard  to  lunch  and  rest 
rooms,  which  are  a  feature  of  welfare  work  in  many  factories.  In 
some  of  these  places  the  workers  claim  that  they  get  better  food 
at  their  own  homes  and  that  they  do  not  wish  the  owners  to  control 
their  expenditures  for  lunch  during  their  own  midday  hour.  The 
author  of  "  Betterment,"  a  book  written  chiefly  in  praise  of  the 
National  Cash  Register  Company,  says  that  he  entered  a  restaurant 
provided  by  the  firm  in  which  free  coffee  was  served  to  the  employes, 
and  began  a  conversation  with  a  man  who  ate  his  lunch  without 
the  coffee.  He  asked  the  workman  if  he  didn't  like  the  coffee.  The 
workman  said  he  did.  "  Then  why  don't  you  have  some?  "  The 
man  answered  that  he  was  afraid  that  if  he  took  two  cents'  worth 
of  coffee  he  would  be  expected  to  do  seventeen  cents'  worth  of  work 
for  it. 

All  these  objections  on  the  part  of  the  workers,  whether  justi- 
fied by  actual  conditions  or  not,  form  the  basis  of  much  of  the 
opposition  of  the  working  class  and  their  representatives  to  all  forms 
of  welfare  activity. 

As  to  the  value  of  employers'  welfare  work  and  actual  results 
of  such  activity  upon  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the 
working  class,  there  can  be  only  one  opinion — that  all  forms  of 
employers'  welfare  activities,  no  matter  what  their  real  motives 
are,  do  benefit  the  workers  and  do  improve  their  condition. 

All  welfare  work  is  important  in  the  first  place  as  a  social  experi- 
ment, as  an  example  of  what  can  and  therefore  ought  to  be  done  by 
enlightened  employers.  Welfare  work  is  an  incentive  to  improve 
legal  sanitary  standards.  Such  standards  give  only  the  minimum 
requirements,  and  it  is  only  when  intelligent  employers  show  the  way 
and  prove  by  example  that  other  improvements  are  possible  and 
necessary,  that  the  legal  standards  are  raised.  Welfare  work  not 
only  raises  the  economic,  intellectual  and  social  standards  of  the 
workers,  but  it  has  an  immense  educational  value  in  paving  the 
way  for  the  general  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  working 
class,  and  for  the  enlightening  of  the  workers  as  to  what  may  and 
can  be  done  for  them  and,  perhaps,  by  themselves. 

Employers'  welfare  work  appears  in  a  variety  of  forms,  but 
may  be  broadly  divided  into  two  groups  of  activities:  first,  the 
raising  of  the  economic  standards  of  the  workers,  and  second,  the 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          295 

improvement  of  their  physical,  intellectual  and  social  conditions. 
The  forms  of  welfare  work  which  fall  under  the  two  groups  are 
numerous,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  following  scheme: 


IMPROVING  THE  ECONOMIC  CONDITION  OF  THE  WORKERS 

I.  SECURITY  AND  INCREASE  OF  INCOME. 
(a)  Tenure  of  employment. 
(6)  Minimum  wage. 
(c)   Profit  sharing. 

II.  INCREASED  INCOME  FOR  INCREASED  PRODUCTION. 

(a)  Bonus  and  premium  systems. 

(b)  Premiums  for  long  service. 

(c)  Scientific  management. 

III.  REDUCTION  OF  COST  OF  LIVING. 

(a)  Cheap  rent. 

(6)  Company  stores. 

IV.  COOPERATION  IN  ADMINISTRATION. 

(a)  Suggestion  systems. 

(b)  Shop  committees. 

(c)  Promotion  and  discipline  committees. 

V.  SPECIAL  PROVISIONS  FOR  WORKERS. 
(a)  Old  age  pensions. 
(6)  Death  benefits. 

(c)  Sickness  benefits. 

(d)  Accident  and  life  insurance. 


II 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  PHYSICAL,  INTELLECTUAL  AND  SOCIAL 
STATUS  OF  THE  WORKERS. 

I.  LESSENING  DANGERS. 
(a)  Shorter  hours. 
(6)  Pauses. 

(c)  Less  monotony. 

(d)  Vacations. 


296  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

II.  IMPROVING  WORKING  CONDITIONS. 
(a)  Model  factories. 
(6)  Light,  ventilation  and  heating. 

(c)  Greater  safety. 

(d)  Washing,  dressing  and  bathing. 

(e)  Rest  rooms. 

III.  IMPROVED  FOOD  AND  DIET. 

(a)  Lunch  rooms. 
(6)  Restaurants, 
(c)   Free  food. 
(e)   Anti-alcohol. 

IV.  RECREATION. 

(a)  Place  for  recreation. 

(6)  Music. 

(c)  Clubs. 

(d)  Athletics. 

(e)  Outings. 

V.  CARE  FOR  HEALTH. 
(a)  First  aid. 
(6)  Emergency  rooms. 

(c)  Hospitals. 

(d)  Physicians  and  nurses. 

(e)  Medical  supervision. 

VI.  EDUCATION. 

(a)  Libraries. 

(6)  Apprenticeship. 

(c)  Shop  schools. 

(d)  Corporation  schools. 

VII.  SOCIAL  IMPROVEMENT. 

(a)  Improved  housing. 
(6)  Garden  cities. 

II 
IMPROVING  THE  ECONOMIC  CONDITION  OF  THE  WORKERS 

The  relation  of  employer  to  employe  is  primarily  an  economic 
one,  determined  by  prevailing  industrial  conditions.  While  the 
interests  of  the  employers  and  the  working  classes  are  close  and 
interdependent,  the  improvement  of  the  economic  condition  of  the 


EMPLOYERS1  WELFARE  WORK          297 

workers  is  not  primarily  within  the  scope  of  the  activities  of  employers. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  factory  era,  however,  we  find  an  increas- 
ing number  of  employers  making  earnest  endeavors  to  better  the 
economic  condition  of  their  workers.  These  endeavors  appear  in 
a  variety  of  forms,  which  may  be  arranged  in  two  principal  divisions. 

The  first  division  includes  all  those  forms  of  employers'  wel- 
fare work  which  are  based  upon  voluntary  attempts  by  the  employ- 
ers to  improve  the  economic  conditions  of  their  workers.  Such 
efforts  usually  react  with  benefit  to  the  employers  by  improving 
their  relations  with  their  workers  and  by  increasing  the  general 
efficiency  and  productivity  of  the  whole  industrial  establishment. 

In  the  second  division  of  this  group  of  welfare  activities  are 
included  those  efforts  of  employers  which  are  made  solely  with 
the  purpose  of  increasing  the  productivity  of  the  industrial  estab- 
lishment; and  the  increased  benefits  to  the  workers  are  usually 
but  a  partial  restitution  and  payment  for  their  extra  efforts  and 
accomplishments.  In  this  division  may  be  included  bonus  systems 
and  so-called  scientific  management.  These  activities  can  hardly 
be  included  under  welfare  work,  although  usually  regarded  as  such. 

Security  and  Increase  of  Income.  Tenure  of  Employment. 
One  of  the  great  evils  of  the  wage  system  is  insecurity  of  employment. 
The  wage  worker  cannot  tell  from  day  to  day  whether  he  will  retain 
his  employment  or  not.  Some  employers  have  felt  the  injustice 
of  this  insecurity  and  have  endeavored  to  mitigate  it  by  making 
long  time  contracts  with  their  workers,  and  by  giving  them  ade- 
quate compensation  in  case  of  dismissal  for  reasons  for  which  they 
are  not  to  blame.  On  the  other  hand,  most  employers  do  not 
realize  the  inequity  of  this  arrangement  at  all.  In  many  factories 
the  worker  is  required  to  give  a  week  or  two  weeks'  notice  to  the 
employer  before  leaving;  while  the  employer  assumes  the  right 
to  dismiss  a  man  instantly  if  he  feels  so  inclined.  Moreover,  to 
insure  his  week's  or  two  weeks'  notice,  a  corresponding  part  of  the 
employe's  wages  are  kept  back  by  the  firm. 

It  was  Ernst  Abbe,  the  founder  of  the  Karl  Zeiss  Stiftung  (Jena, 
Germany),  who  first  worked  out  in  detail  a  scheme  which  meant 
for  the  workers  practical  security  of  employment;  as,  by  the  terms 
of  the  "Stiftung"  dismissalof  a  worker  becomes  very  costly. 
The  firm  of  Freese  in  Berlin,  also  assures  its  workers  security  of 
employment  in  a  similar  way. 

While  most  thoughtful  employers  will  admit  that  in  unemploy- 
ment and  insecurity  of  employment  lies  the  greatest  evil  of  the  wage 


298  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

system,  I  know  of  few  American  employers  who  have  taken  steps 
to  guarantee  their  workers  permanency  of  employment,  conditioned 
always,  of  course,  on  good  behavior. 

Minimum  Wages.  Many  employers  have  adopted  a  minimum 
weekly  wage  or  a  minimum  hour  rate,  regardless  of  the  kind  of 
work  done  or  the  skill  of  the  worker.  In  other  industries  a  certain 
minimum  rate  is  attached  to  each  different  operation,  this  rate  being 
sometimes  arbitrarily  determined  by  the  management;  and  some- 
times where  the  workers  are  organized,  by  shop  committees  on  which 
the  workers  and  management  are  represented.  It  is  in  the  former 
sense,  however,  that  the  term  is  most  popularly  employed. 

The  Karl  Zeiss  Works  at  Jena  have  a  minimum  weekly  rate 
for  all  workers.  J.  Crosfield  &  Sons  in  their  soap  factory  at  War- 
rington,  England,  have  a  minimum  wage  of  twenty-one  shillings 
for  all  male  workers  over  twenty-one.  The  Cadbury  Company 
at  Bournville,  Lever  Bros.,  at  Port  Sunlight,  and  Rowntree's  fac- 
tory at  York  are  examples  of  English  establishments  which  base 
their  wage  payments  on  a  minimum  wage.  The  most  striking 
example  of  the  establishment  of  a  minimum  wage  is  in  the  Ford 
Automobile  Company  of  Detroit,  which  lately  instituted  a  five 
dollar  a  day  minimum  wage  for  all  male  workers  in  its  employ 
over  twenty-one  years  of  age.  A  minimum  wage,  however,  is 
usually  fixed  at  some  very  small  sum  and  is  chiefly  used  as  a  basis 
for  the  calculation  of  premiums,  bonuses  and  piece-work. 

Profit  Sharing.  By  profit  sharing  is  meant  the  practice  of 
some  employers  of  adding  to  the  daily,  weekly,  monthly  or  yearly 
wages  and  income  of  their  workers  a  certain  sum  to  which  they  are 
legally  not  entitled,  but  which  is  voluntarily  given  to  them  by  em- 
ployers from  their  ordinary  or  extraordinary  profits.  Profit  sharing 
is  usually  in  the  form  of  a  gift,  although  it  also  recognizes  the  prin- 
ciple that  the  employes  are  a  part  of  the  machinery  of  the  plant, 
having  done  their  share  in  gaining  the  general  results,  and  are 
therefore  entitled  to  a  certain  share  of  the  profits  of  the  works 
outside  of  their  regular  wages.  A  number  of  employers  have 
adopted  some  form  of  profit  sharing.  Of  course,  upon  a  close 
analysis,  it  simply  means  that  the  employers  have  beforehand  deter- 
mined upon  the  distribution  of  a  fixed  percentage  of  the  general 
profit  among  their  employes. 

Lever  Bros,  do  not  believe  in  profit  sharing.  They  state  that 
it  cannot  exist  where  the  worker  cannot  share  the  losses  as  well  as 
the  profits.  They  have  a  scheme  called  "  prosperity  sharing," 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          299 

which  consists  in  setting  aside  a  certain  sum  of  money  from  the 
earnings  of  any  prosperous  year,  to  be  used  as  a  substantial  benefit 
for  their  employes,  either  by  building  additional  houses  for  their 
workmen  to  be  rented  at  low  cost,  or  by  providing  some  form  of 
recreation  or  education. 

In  the  Van  Marken  Works  at  Delf,  Holland,  a  scheme  was 
instituted  whereby  the  workers  became  the  sole  owners  of  the  fac- 
tory. Fifty  per  cent  of  the  profits  were  credited  to  the  workmen  in 
proportion  to  their  wages.  This  sum  was  then  paid  into  the 
bank  and  when  it  reached  the  amount  of  a  share,  that  amount  of 
stock  was  credited  to  the  worker.  At  the  end  of  twelve  years  the 
workers  in  the  factory  had  become  the  sole  owners  of  the  capital 
stock.  Such  a  scheme,  which  results  in  the  elimination  of  the 
capitalist,  has  not  often  been  copied. 

A  form  of  profit  sharing  which  has  attracted  much  attention 
was  first  instituted  by  Sir  George  Livesey  in  the  London  Gas  Works. 
This  scheme  of  copartnership  admitted  the  workmen,  consumers 
and  the  share  holders.  The  workmen  were  entitled  to  an  annual 
bonus  of  one  and  one-half  per  cent  on  their  wages  for  every  penny 
at  which  gas  was  sold  below  a  certain  standard,  which  was  arbi- 
trarily fixed  at  two  shillings  and  eight  pence  per  thousand  feet. 
The  men  were  required  to  invest  one-half  of  this  bonus  in  the  Com- 
pany's stock.  Responsibility  in  the  management  of  the  Company 
was  then  given  the  workers  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  stock 
jointly  owned  by  them. 

American  employers  are  somewhat  divided  in  their  opinion  as 
to  the  value  of  profit  sharing.  One  of  the  first  firms  to  adopt  it 
was  Brewster  &  Company,  who  employed  about  one  hundred  men 
in  their  carriage  factory.  In  1869  they  instituted  a  profit  sharing 
scheme.  The  percentage  of  profits  to  be  divided  was  to  be  deter- 
mined by  committees  elected  by  each  department,  to  act  jointly 
with  the  managers  as  a  board  of  control,  and  also  to  control  con- 
ditions of  work  in  their  respective  departments.  Two  years  after 
this  scheme  was  instituted,  the  men  struck  together  with  the  rest 
of  the  carriage  makers  in  New  York  for  an  eight-hour  day,  and  the 
partnership  was  dissolved. 

Many  American  employers  are  of  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Lever, 
of  the  Lever  Bros.  Soap  Works  at  Port  Sunlight,  that  there  can  be 
no  real  profit  sharing  without  a  sharing  of  losses.  Other  firms 
share  profits  on  the  stipulation  that  a  part  of  the  profit  accruing 
to  each  employe  shall  be  used  to  purchase  stock  in  the  company. 


300  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

This  is  the  case  with  the  N.  0.  Nelson  Company  of  Detroit,  Mich. 
The  workers  are  paid  in  proportion  to  their  earnings  on  a  time  basis. 
Profit  sharing  dividends  are  allowed  only  to  such  employes  as  have 
saved  ten  per  cent  of  their  full  time  wages  and  invested  it  in  the 
company 's|stock.  Other  firms  allot  a  percentage  of  their  profits 
to  their  employes  in  accordance  with  their  behavior.  In  the 
Thomas  G.  Plant  Company,  employes  are  divided  into  three  classes 
for  the  purpose  of  profit  sharing.  The  employe's  behavior,  manners, 
punctuality,  quality  and  quantity  of  work,  neatness,  etc.,  are  all 
taken  into  account  in  determining  the  class  to  which  he  belongs. 

The  Detroit  Graphite  Company  sets  aside  a  certain  sum  each 
year  to  be  divided  among  its  employes  in  proportion  to  their  length 
of  service  in  the  firm.  Employes  who  have  worked  five  years  or 
over  with  the  company  receive  five  per  cent  on  their  weekly  wages; 
those  who  have  been  with  the  firm  four  years  receive  four  per  cent, 
and  so  on. 

The  latest  scheme  of  profit  sharing  is  that  which  has  been 
adopted  by  the  Henry  Ford  Automobile  Company.  Mr.  Ford, 
having  found  that  at  the  end  of  1913  he  had  a  surplus  of  ten  million 
dollars,  decided  to  divide  the  surplus  among  his  ten  to  fifteen 
thousand  employes  by  practically  doubling  their  wages  for  1914, 
instead  of  cheapening  the  product  to  the  consumers. 

As  to  the  value  of  profit  sharing,  the  following  opinion  of 
Frederick  W.  Taylor  is  of  interest: 

"  Profit  sharing  as  ordinarily  applied  in  competitive  establish- 
ments practically  throughout  the  world  has  been  a  failure.  Dr. 
Elliot  is  right  in  saying  that  profit  sharing  has  been  a  failure  in  nine 
out  of  ten  cases  in  which  it  has  been  tried.  The  reason  for  the 
failure  lies  fundamentally  in  human  nature;  and  until  you  have 
studied  men,  *-lived  next  to  workmen,  analyzed  their  motives,  studied 
their  methods  of  thought  and  know  their  outlook,  you  will  fail  to 
realize  why  profit  sharing  is  a  failure.  I  am  not  saying  that  I  do 
not  favor  profit  sharing.  I  believe  in  it,  but  it  cannot  be  the  lazy 
man's  profit  sharing;  it  cannot  be  the  ordinary  kind  of  profit  sharing. 
It  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to  give  away  one-seventh  of  your 
earnings.  That  is  the  lazy  man's  way.  There  is  nothing  to  it. 
You  have  got  to  get  down  to  every  single  individual  in  your  place. 
You  cannot  pro-rate  wages  at  the  end  of  the  year  and  do  justice  to 
your  men — you  must  share  the  profits  with  those  men  who  have 
earned  them  and  not  let  the  fellow  who  has  not  earned  them  get  a 
cent  of  the  profits."  * 

*  Address  before  the  Boston  Efficiency  Club  Branch,  Feb.   11,   1914,  p.  25.       Published 
in  the  Journal  of  the  Efficiency  Society,  March,  1914. 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          301 

In  other  words,  Mr.  Taylor  claims  that  profit  sharing  in  order 
to  be  just,  should  not  be  given  indiscriminately  to  all  employes, 
but  only  to  those  who  deserve  it;  and  then,  of  course,  it  is  simply 
a  bonus  payment  to  those  employes  who  by  their  extra  efforts  have 
earned  higher  wages,  but  do  not  get  them  and  receive  them  in  the 
form  of  profits  divided  among  them  at  certain  periods. 

Increased  Income  for  Increased  Production.  As  we  have 
seen,  the  objections  of  the  exponents  of  the  efficiency  system  to 
profit  sharing  are  its  indiscriminate  use  and  the  reward  of  those 
members  of  an  industrial  establishment  who  are  really  not  deserv- 
ing of  their  share  of  increased  income.  The  method  of  increasing 
the  income  of  workers  usually  practiced  by  these  employers  is  the 
giving  of  bonuses  and  premiums. 

Bonuses  and  Premiums.  In  addition  to  wages,  many  firms, 
especially  those  which  conduct  their  business  on  a  piecework  basis, 
offer  bonuses  or  premiums  to  their  workers.  Employers  state 
that  the  bonus  system  results  in  a  very  much  larger  output  and  con- 
sequent saving  of  expense.  In  the  Santa  Fe  machine  shops  the 
bonus  system  consisted  in  paying  a  minimum  rate  of  thirty  cents 
an  hour,  and  then  allowing  a  twenty  per  cent  bonus  for  performing 
the  work  within  a  standard  time,  which  had  been  previously  deter- 
mined. H.  W.  Jacobs,  the  assistant  superintendent  of  the  motive 
power  division  in  the  Sante  Fe  Railroad,  says: 

"  The  payment  of  bonus  is  made  on  an  efficiency  basis.  As 
previously  stated,  a  bonus  of  twenty  per  cent  of  wages  is  paid  for 
doing  work  in  the  standard  time,  which  represents  one  hundred 
per  cent  efficiency.  When  more  time  is  taken  to  do  the  work  than 
allowed  by  the  standard,  the  efficiency  of  the  workman  necessarily 
decreases,  for  which  a  less  amount  of  bonus  is  paid,  the  workman 
receiving  only  his  hourly  pay  for  doing  the  work.  If  the  work  is 
performed  in  less  than  the  standard  time  allowed,  more  than  twenty 
per  cent  bonus  is  paid  for  the  operation,  depending  on  the  reduction 
made  in  the  time." 

This  bonus  system  of  the  Sante  Fe  was  part  of  an  efficiency 
plan  which  was  installed  in  the  works,  operated  for  two  years  and 
then  discontinued.  The  bonus  system  aims  at  a  large  output. 
By  its  critics  it  is  stated  to  be  simply  a  method  of  speeding  up  the 
worker.  There  is  no  limit  placed  on  the  standard  time,  which  can 
easily  be  shortened  as  the  workers  are  speeded  up  to  maximum 
production.  Under  the  bonus  system  a  worker  might  accomplish 
his  job  using  only  a  few  minutes  more  than  the  standard  time;  but 


302  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

in  this  case  he  would  receive  no  bonus,  or,  as  Mr.  Jacobs  subtly 
says  "  a  less  amount  of  bonus,  namely,  only  his  hourly  rate," 
which  he  would  obtain  whether  he  hustled  for  the  bonus  or 
not.  «*• 

Organized  workers  are  opposed  to  the  bonus  system,  whether 
in  their  own  or  other  trades.  Warren  S.  Stone,  President  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers,  states  that  his  organization 
is  opposed  to  the  bonus  system  all  along  the  line.  His  reasons 
are  primarily  the  necessity  for  careful  workmanship  in  the  build- 
ing of  locomotives  and  locomotive  machinery.  The  bonus  system 
with  its  emphasis  on  speed  and  output  tends  to  the  scamping  of  work 
and  therefore  results  in  faults  or  defects  in  machinery.  Two  hun- 
dred and  ten  members  of  the  Brotherhood  were  killed  in  1910  and 
many  wrecks  have  resulted  from  invisible  defects.  "  We  don't  want 
piece-work  and  we  don't  want  the  bonus  system  with  its  attendant 
incentive  for  some  man  to  slight  his  job."  * 

Payment  of  premiums  is  on  a  slightly  different  basis  from  the 
bonus  system;  but  a  time  limit  is  assigned  to  every  job  in  the  same 
way.  The  worker  accomplishing  his  task  in  less  than  this  standard 
time  receives  an  additional  wage  in  proportion  to  the  time  saved. 
If  he  saves  one-third  of  the  time,  he  receives  one-third  of  the 
money  which  would  have  been  paid  for  that  time,  and  has  the 
extra  hours  in  which  to  go  on  to  another  job. 

Another  method  is  to  pay  to  each  employe  at  the  end  of  the 
year  a  percentage  on  all  wages  earned  within  the  year.  The  Lowney 
Chocolate  Company  pays  a  five  per  cent  annual  bonus  on  the  wages 
earned  by  each  employe.  The  Heinz  Pickle  Factory  divides  twice 
a  year  a  small  percentage  with  its  best  workers. 

Premiums  for  Years  of  Service.  Many  employers  take  some 
method  for  recognizing  faithful  and  long  continued  service  from 
their  employes.  The  Van  Marken  Company  in  Holland  gives 
a  silver  cross  at  the  end  of  twelve  and  one-half  years'  service,  and  a 
gold  cross  after  twenty-five  years  of  work.  The  Villeroy  &  Bach 
Company  give  a  silver  medal  to  each  employe  after  twenty-five 
years  of  service  and  a  gold  medal  after  fifty  years  of  work.  The 
Sherwin-Williams  Paint  Company  present  each  faithful  employe 
who  has  served  them  for  twenty-five  years  with  a  gold  watch.  Cros- 
field  &  Sons  pay  £5  at  the  end  of  twenty-five  years'  service  and 
£20  at  the  end  of  fifty  years'  service.  The  Menier  Chocolate  Com- 
pany gives  extra  pay  for  long  service.  A  worker  who  has  been 

*  Human  Engineering,  January,  1911,  p.  13. 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          303 

in  their  employ  for  twenty  years  receives  £8  for  every  subsequent 
year  in  addition  to  his  regular  earnings. 

Scientific  Management.  Not  one  of  the  exponents  of  so-called 
scientific  management  in  factories  has  ever  claimed  that  the  purpose 
of  the  introduction  of  this  new  system  is  the  improvement  of  the 
economic  or  social  conditions  of  the  workers  themselves.  Hence, 
scientific  management  can  scarcely  be  considered  as  a  form  of  wel- 
fare work. 

By  scientific  management  is  understood  the  efforts  of  a  factory 
management  "  to  obtain  the  maximum  prosperity  as  a  result  of  the 
maximum  productivity."  "  The  greatest  prosperity,"  says  Fred- 
erick H.  Taylor,  "  can  exist  only  as  a  result  of  the  greatest  possible 
productivity  of  the  men  and  the  machines;  that  is,  when  each 
man  and  each  machine  is  turning  out  the  largest  possible  output. 
It  follows  that  the  most  important  object  of  both  the  workmen  and 
the  management  should  be  the  training  and  development  of  each 
individual  in  the  establishment  so  that  he  can  do  at  his  fastest  pace 
and  with  the  maximum  efficiency  the  highest  class  of  work  for  which 
his  natural  abilities  fit  him.* 

Under  scientific  management,  bonuses  and  premiums  have  been 
largely  adopted,  chiefly  in  the  industries  where  output  and  quan- 
tity are  the  chief  consideration.  Scientific  management,  so-called, 
has  worked  out  systems  of  payment  based  on  (1)  a  minimum  time 
wage,  (2)  premiums  or  bonuses  for  the  saving  of  time  on  a  job,  and 
(3)  special  prizes  or  awards  paid  to  groups  of  workers,  divided  in 
proportion  to  their  individual  earnings.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
under  scientific  management  the  output  of  the  factory  is  greatly 
increased,  the  general  prosperity  of  the  works  enhanced,  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  whole  industrial  establishment  is  at  its  highest,  the 
profit  of  the  employer  the  greatest,  and  incidentally  the  wages 
and  income  of  the  workers  also  increased  to  a  greater  or  lesser 
degree. 

In  so  far  as  scientific  management  increases  the  general  efficiency 
of  industrial  production  and  brings  increased  prosperity  to  the 
industrial  classes,  there  can  be  very  little  objection  to  this  system. 
The  chief  opposition  to  scientific  management  in  factories  comes 
from  the  workers  themselves,  from  their  representatives  and  from 
those  social  workers  who  dispassionately  judge  this  new  efficiency 
movement  in  industrial  production. 

The  opposition  of  the  workers  themselves  is  well  expressed  in 

*  F.  H.  Taylor:    "  Principles  of  Scientific  Management,"  pp.  9  and  12.     [Italics  mine.] 


304  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

the  criticism  of  scientific  management  by  John  P.  Frey,  editor  of 
the  International  Holder's  Journal,  in  an  address  delivered  before 
the  Western  Economic  Association.  Mr.  Frey's  opposition  is  based 
upon  the  following  contentions:  (1)  that  so-called  scientific  manage- 
ment tends  to  specialization  and  converts  the  workers  into  frac- 
tional mechanics,  whose  knowledge  of  a  trade  or  industry  is  con- 
fined to  but  a  few  simple  operations;  (2)  that  it  does  not  provide 
an  adequate  system  for  education  of  apprentices;  (3)  that  it  does 
not  provide  for  the  advance  of  the  workman  in  mechanical  knowl- 
edge, but  keeps  him  endlessly  performing  the  same  operation,  dis- 
regarding the  fact  that  this  constant  repetition,  which  in  time  be- 
comes semi-automatic  on  the  part  of  the  workmen,  through  its 
very  monotony  numbs  the  mind  instead  of  inspiring  it;  (4)  that  if 
applied  to  all  industries  it  would  prevent  development  of  com- 
petent mechanics  and  produce  in  their  place  fractional  mechanics 
who  could  only  work  effectively  under  the  groups  of  super-foremen 
provided  for  by  the  system;  (5)  that  it  is  unsafe  as  well  as  unscien- 
tific, inasmuch  as  its  tendency  is  toward  the  production  of  quan- 
tity rather  than  quality.  The  number  of  bricks  which  can  be 
laid  in  a  day  is  one  thing;  the  strength  and  durability  of  the  wall 
is  an  entirely  different  matter.  The  number  of  steel  rails  which 
can  be  run  through  the  rolls  in  a  day  may  be  an  interesting  item 
in  the  matter  of  production,  but  of  greater  importance  to  the  pub- 
lic is  the  abilitv-  of  these  rails  to  withstand  the  burden  of  traffic; 
(6)  scientific  management  fails  to  adequately  understand  the  human 
factor  and  the  spirit  of  American  institutions,  for  it  makes  of  one 
man  a  taskmaster  without  the  free  consent  of  the  other;  (7)  that  while 
workmen  do  not  object  to  experiments  for  the  discovery  of  the 
greatest  capacity  of  production  by  machinery,  they  strenuously 
object,  and  justly,  to  all  efforts  to  experiment  with  them  in  the 
same  way.* 

The  eminent  English  sociologist,"  J.  A.  Hobson,  makes  the 
following  objections  to  scientific  management: 

"  In  so  far  as  initiative,  interest,  variation,  experiment  and 
personal  responsibility  are  factors  of  human  value  qualifying  the 
human  costs  of  labor,  it  seems  evident  that  scientific  management 
involves  a  loss  or  injury  to  the  workers." 

"  The  basic  reason,"  says  Mr.  Hobson,  for  offering  a  bonus  in 
scientifically  managed  concerns  at  the  present  day 

*  American  Federationist,  April,  1913. 


EMPLOYEES'  WELFARE  WORK          305 

"  is  the  necessity  to  overcome  the  dislike  of  the  worker  and  to  in- 
duce him  to  make  the  greater  effort  necessary  under  this  system; 
but  when  all  firms  shall  have  adopted  this  system,  the  worker  will 
have  no  choice;  therefore,  only  that  part  of  the  bonus  will  continue 
to  be  paid  which  is  necessary  to  replace  muscular  and  nervous 
wear  and  tear  of  speeded  up  and  more  automatic  work;  that  is, 
this  bonus  would  be  part  of  the  cost  of  production  and  the  laborer 
would  get  no  higher  payment  for  his  increased  productivity."* 

Mr.  Hobson  concludes  his  criticism  with  the  following  remarks: 

"  Indeed,  were  the  full  rigor  of  scientific  management  to  be  applied 
throughout  the  staple  industries,  not  only  would  the  human  costs  of 
labor  appear  to  be  enhanced,  but  progress  in  the  industrial  arts 
itself  would  probably  be  damaged.  For  the  whole  strain  of  prog- 
ress would  be  thrown  upon  the  scientific  manager  and  the  consulting 
psychologist.  The  large  assistance  given  to  technical  invention 
by  the  observation  and  experiments  of  intelligent  workmen,  the  con- 
stant flow  of  suggestion  for  detailed  improvements  would  cease. 
The  elements  of  creative  work  still  surviving  in  most  routine  labor 
would  disappear.  On  the  one  hand,  there  would  be  small  bodies 
of  efficient  taskmasters  carefully  administering  the  orders  of  expert 
managers;  on  the  other,  large  masses  of  physically  efficient  but 
mentally  inert  executive  machines.  Though  the  productivity  of 
existing  industrial  processes  might  be  greatly  increased  by  this 
economy,  the  future  of  industrial  progress  might  be  imperilled. 
For  not  only  would  the  arts  of  invention  and  improvement  be  con- 
fined to  the  few,  but  the  mechanization  of  the  great  mass  of  work- 
men would  render  them  less  capable  of  adapting  their  labor  to  any 
other  method  than  that  to  which  they  had  been  drilled.  Again, 
such  automatism  in  the  workers  would  react  injuriously  upon  their 
character  as  consumers,  damaging  their  capacity  to  get  full  human 
gain  out  of  any  higher  remuneration  that  they  might  obtain.  It 
would  also  injure  them  as  citizens,  disabling  them  from  taking  an 
intelligent  part  in  the  arts  of  political  self-government.  For  indus- 
trial servitude  is  inimical  to  political  liberty.  It  would  become 
even  more  difficult  than  now  for  a  majority  of  men,  accustomed 
in  their  workday  to  mechanical  obedience,  to  stand  up  in  their 
capacity  as  citizens  against  their  industrial  rulers  when,  as  often 
happens,  upon  critical  occasions,  political  interests  correspond 
with  economic  cleavages."  f 

Reduction  of  Cost  of  Living.  A  certain  number  of  employers 
in  order  to  improve  the  economic  condition  of  their  workers, 
endeavor  to  reduce  the  cost  of  living  either  by  furnishing  them  with 
cheap  rent,  by  building  their  own  houses  and  making  the  rent  at 

*  J.  A.  Hobson:  Sociological  Review,  July,  1913. 
t  Ibid. 


306  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

cost  or  below  it,  or  by  furnishing  the  workers  with  provisions,  food, 
clothing,  etc.,  at  cost  price  or  at  a  little  above  or  below  it.  Of 
course,  many  of  these  schemes  were  introduced  not  with  a  view  to 
benefiting  the  workers,  but  either  because  of  necessity,  as,  for  in- 
stance, in  lonely  districts  where  there  were  no  houses  or  stores,  or 
when  the  furnishing  of  houses  and  food  products  was  made  not  to 
benefit  the  employes  but  for  profit,  and  became  a  means  of  exploiting 


Courtesy  National  Lamp  Works. 

Two-way  Cafeteria. 

their  helplessness.  These  were  the  activities  which  led  in  a  great 
many  states  and  countries  to  the  enactment  of  the  "  truck  "  acts, 
forbidding  the  employers  to  run  "  company  stores  "  or  pay  their 
employes  by  checks  or  in  the  form  of  rent  or  food. 

Cooperation  in  Administration.  Capitalist  industry  is  an  aris- 
tocracy, an  hierarchy.  It  is  governed  from  the  top  by  the  employer, 
by  the  owner  of  the  establishment  without  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned. The  old  time  capitalist  was  very  jealous  of  bis  prerogatives 
and  of  his  "  vested  interests  and  divine  rights."  One  eminent 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK 


307 


coal  baron  stated  that  the  coal  mines  and  fields  were  given  to  him 
by  Divine  Providence  and  that  he  could  brook  no  interference  of 
anyone  with  his  personal  management  of  his  divine  responsibilities. 
"  One  of  the  most  poignant  paradoxes  of  the  present  situation 
in  industry,"  says  Prof.  Felix  Adler,  "  is  the  contradiction  between 
the  democracy  outside  of  the  factory  and  the  absolute  monarchy 
within  the  factory.  Is  it  natural  for  men  to  be  taught  that  so  far 


Courtesy  National  Lamp  Works. 


One-way  Cafeteria. 


as  the  government  of  the  country  is  concerned,  self  respect  demands 
their  participation  in  the  making  of  the  laws  which  they  are  bound 
to  obey,  and,  on  the  other  hand  to  have  it  impressed  upon  them 
day  by  day  in  the  factory  that  they  are  to  take  the  orders  of  their 
superiors  without  any  right  on  their  part  to  assist  in  the  making 
of  the  rules  to  which  they  are  subordinated  ?  " 

It  is  only  with  the  growth  of  the  labor  movement  that  an  increased 
tendency  to  democratization  of  industry  and  to  the  participation,  at 
least  partial,  of  the  mass  of  workers  in  the  management  of  indus- 


308  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

trial  establishments  has  become  apparent.  While  owners  and  em- 
ployers have  at  last,  though  reluctantly,  admitted  the  right  of  the 
state  to  interfere  to  some  extent  in  the  magagement  of  industrial 
establishments,  they  are  still  strenuously  opposed  to  any  admission 
of  the  right  of  the  workers  to  any  share  in  the  government  of  the 
establishments  in  which  they  work.  It  is  only  here  and  there 
that  intelligent  and  progressive  employers  seek  to  introduce  some 
democratic  system  in  their  works,  and  so  far  as  this  has  been  suc- 
cessful, it  may  be  considered  a  part  of  welfare  work. 

Many  experiments  have  been  tried  in  admitting  the  wage  earn- 
ers to  some  share  in  the  management  of  industry.  Some  have  been 
successful,  while  the  results  of  others  are  admittedly  doubtful.  Some 
of  the  schemes  remind  their  critics  of  the  way  in  which  small  chil- 
dren are  sometimes  allowed  to  hold  the  ends  of  the  reins  while 
their  father  drives,  with  the  illusion  that  they  are  really  guiding 
the  horse. 

Among  these  experiments  may  be  included  suggestion  systems 
and  shop  committees. 

Suggestion  Systems.  The  suggestion  system  has  been  adopted 
by  many  factories  both  large  and  small.  It  is  an  effort  to  utilize 
the  practical  ideas  of  employes  in  making  the  business  more  effective. 
In  some  establishments  suggestions  are  solicited  for  every  branch 
of  the  business;  in  others,  only  suggestions  as  to  mechanical  improve- 
ments or  time-saving  devices  are  desired.  The  Cadbury  Cocoa  Fac- 
tory at  Bournville  receives  suggestions  from  its  employes  in  regard 
to  (1)  comfort,  safety  or  health;  (2)  means  of  preventing  waste 
of  materials;  (3)  saving  of  time  and  expense;  (4)  improvements 
in  machinery;  (5)  introduction  of  new  goods  or  ideas;  (6)  existing 
defects;  (7)  athletic  and  other  clubs  and  societies;  and  (8)  any- 
thing not  included  in  this  list.  Prizes  ranging  from  five  shillings 
to  ten  pounds  are  awarded  at  the  end  of  the  year  for  the  best  sug- 
gestions. 

In  the  Karl  Zeiss  Optical  Works  at  Jena  the  suggestions  of 
employes  have  resulted  in  many  improvements  and  inventions. 
From  sixty  to  seventy  suggestions  are  adopted  each  year.  The 
Acme  White  Lead  Works  and  the  Bausch  &  Lomb  Optical  Com- 
pany have  employed  a  suggestion  system  for  many  years.  The 
National  Cash  Register  Company  pays  for  suggestions  in  propor- 
tion to  their  value  to  the  firm.  It  also  gives  educational  trips  as 
prizes  to  the  authors  of  specially  valuable  suggestions.  These  trips 
are  to  Washington,  New  York  or  other  commercial  centers. 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK 


309 


The  Cleveland  Hardware  Company  at  one  time  put  boxes  in 
its  factory,  into  which  the  employes  were  asked  to  drop  any  sug- 
gestions in  regard  to  improvements  in  machinery,  methods  of 
work,  economies,  etc.  At  the  end  of  six  months  a  prize  was  to 
be  given  for  the  best  suggestions.  This  scheme,  however,  had  to 
be  abandoned  in  favor  of  a  promise  to  pay  cash  for  all  suggestions 
of  value. 

The  Chandler  &  Taylor  Company  of  Indianapolis  abandoned 


Courtesy  National  Cash  Register  Co. 

Noon-hour  Rest  and  Recreation. 


their  system  of  giving  prizes  for  suggestions  because  the  best  men 
would  not  compete,  considering  a  prize  inadequate  where  a  great 
saving  was  effected.  This  feeling  prevails  among  the  workers  in 
many  factories  in  regard  to  suggestion  systems  where  small  prizes 
or  payments  are  made  for  suggestions  which  may  result  in  saving 
the  firm  thousands  of  dollars  through  the  year.  The  only  fair 
plan  to  the  worker  is  to  pay  him  a  percentage  of  the  saving 
effected. 


310 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Shop  Committees.  Some  of  the  large  establishments  have 
solicited  the  cooperation  of  their  workers  through  committees  of 
the  men  elected  by  them  to  represent  their  interests  to  the  manage- 
ment. The  National  Cash  Register  Company  conducts  its  whole 
business  through  a  series  of  committees  under  the  direction  of  the 
president,  vice-president  and  general  manager.  Each  department 


Courtesy  National  Lamp  Workg. 


Rest  Room. 


in  the  works  from  the  business  department  down  elects  a  com- 
mittee to  administer  the  affairs  of  the  department. 

In  the  Karl  Zeiss  Works,  the  men  elect  annually  a  committee 
to  represent  them  in  their  dealings  with  the  board  of  managers; 
while  a  sub-committee  of  seven  members  acts  as  an  executive  com- 
mittee for  the  larger  body.  All  the  transactions  of  the  committees 
are  posted  in  the  work-rooms.  These  shop  committees  may,  of 
course,  be  merely  a  decoration,  and  have  no  real  authority  or 
responsibility.  On  the  other  hand,  they  sometimes — as  in  the 
Zeiss  Works — really  assist  in  the  administration,  and  are  in  fact 


EMPLOYEES'  WELFARE  WORK          311 

a  necessary  part  of  the  machinery  of  management.  Another  type 
of  shop  committee  is  the  grievance  or  promotion  committee  which 
exists  in  some  factories. 

Special  Provisions  for  Workers.  Accident  and  Sickness  Insur- 
ance. Sick  and  death  benefit  associations  are  maintained  in  many 
factories.  Their  organization,  methods  of  payment,  and  regu- 
lations are  more  or  less  similar.  Where  these  associations  have 
grown  up  among  the  workers  and  where  the  employer  does  not 
contribute  to  the  funds,  these  associations  are  naturally  not  to  be 
considered  a  part  of  welfare  work,  although  in  many  instances,  they 
have  been  started  at  the  instigation  of  the  employer,  who  often 
furnishes  a  round  sum  of  money  to  start  the  organization  and  con- 
tributes from  time  to  time  to  a  greater  or  lesser  degree. 

The  membership  in  these  associations  is  sometimes  compul- 
sory; that  is,  all  workers  entering  the  factory  must  belong  to  this 
benefit  organization.  In  such  cases,  the  weekly  or  monthly  dues 
are  deducted  from  the  pay  envelopes  by  the  firm.  Should  an  employe 
leave,  he  may  or  may  not  be  entitled  to  the  money  he  has  deposited 
in  this  way.  This  form  of  benefit  association  is  productive  of  a 
good  deal  of  friction  and  bad  feeling  by  reason  of  its  compulsory 
character. 

In  the  relief  association  of  the  Shredded  Wheat  Company,  those 
whose  weekly  wages  are  less  than  $6.50  a  week  contribute  two  and 
one-half  cents  a  week;  those  whose  wages  are  more  than  $6.50  con- 
tribute five  cents  a  week.  Other  relief  associations  charge  a  per- 
centage of  the  wages  received  by  their  employes.  The  firm  often 
acts  as  custodian  and  the  money  of  the  members  is  deducted  from 
their  pay  envelopes.  The  usual  benefit  is  $5.00  a  week  in  case  of 
sickness,  and  $100.00  to  $200.00  in  case  of  death.  Benefits  are 
paid  for  a  certain  length  of  time  and  most  of  the  organizations  have 
a  stipulation  that  sick  benefits  shall  not  be  paid  for  more  than  a 
definite  number  of  weeks  or  months  per  year,  the  usual  term 
being  thirteen  weeks. 

In  addition  to  the  benefits  provided  by  these  associations,  a  num- 
ber of  firms  pay  additional  sickness  and  accident  benefits.  The 
International  Harvester  Company  have  had  a  plan  of  accident 
insurance  in  effect  since  1910.  The  workers  do  not  contribute  any- 
thing towards  this  insurance,  a  definite  sum  having  been  set  aside 
for  this  purpose  by  the  corporation.  In  case  of  death,  three  years' 
average  wages  are  paid,  but  the  amount  cannot  be  less  than  $1500 
or  more  than  $4000.  One-fourth  of  the  wages  during  the  first 


312 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


thirty  days  of  disability  are  paid,  and  if  the  disability  continues 
longer  than  thirty  days,  one-half  wages  are  paid  during  that  period; 
but  not  for  more  than  two  years  after  the  accident.  Special  bene- 
fits are  paid  for  the  loss  of  hand,  foot  or  eye. 

Sick  and  accident  benefits  and  death  benefits  are  provided  in 


industrial  establishments  in  Germany  and  England  in  accordance ; 
with  the  requirements  of  the  national  insurance  legislation  which 
has   developed   in   both   countries.     In   addition,   however,   to   thei 
legal  payments,  many   establishments   pay   further  benefits.     The 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          313 

Karl  Zeiss  Works  at  Jena  and  the  Freese  Company  at  Berlin  have 
both  placed  a  large  sick  fund  in  the  hands  of  the  workers  for  dis- 
bursement, the  managers  having  no  voice  in  its  direction. 

Old  Age  Pensions.  Manufacturing  establishments,  both  in  Eng- 
land and  on  the  continent,  maintain  pension  schemes  for  their  work- 
ers which  give  larger  sums  of  money  than  those  afforded  by  the 
national  insurance  acts.  In  the  Zeiss  Optical  Works,  every  employe 
is  legally  assured  a  pension  for  infirmity  or  old  age  or  for  the  benefit 
of  his  family  in  case  of  death,  after  five  years  of  service.  This 
pension  is  computed  on  the  basis  of  a  fixed  minimum  wage  scale. 

The  United  States  Steel  Corporation  recently  sel  aside  twelve 
million  dollars  as  a  pension  fund  for  superannuated  employes. 
The  Western  Electric  Company,  the  Westinghouse  Air  Brake 
Company,  the  International  Harvester  Company,  Bausch  &  Lomb 
Optical  Company,  the  Talbot  Woolen  Mills,  and  the  Gorham  Man- 
ufacturing Company  all  have  pension  schemes  which,  while  varying 
in  detail  are  similar  in  outline. 

The  Westinghouse  Company  retires  all  employes  at  the  age  of 
seventy  years;  while  all  who  have  been  twenty  years  in  the  com- 
pany's employ  are  pensioned.  Employes  between  sixty-five  and 
sixty-nine  years  old,  who  have  worked  twenty  years  for  the  com- 
pany and  are  incapacitated,  may  be  retired  and  pensioned.  Men 
who  have  been  twenty-five  years  in  the  employ  of  the  company 
may  be  retired  at  the  discretion  of  the  managers.  Men  sixty  years 
old  who  have  been  in  the  company's  employ  for  forty  years  are 
retired  on  a  pension,  and  those  who  are  sixty-five  years  old,  if  they 
have  been  in  the  employ  of  the  company  for  thirty  years. 

The  International  Harvester  Company  retires  all  male  employes 
with  pension  after  twenty  years  of  service,  on  reaching  sixty-five 
years  of  age.  The  Western  Electric  Company  pensions  employes 
who  have  worked  for  twenty  years  and  are  sixty  years  old.  Any 
employe  who  has  been  with  the  company  for  thirty  years  may  be 
retired  at  fifty-five. 

The  Talbot  Woolen  Mills  give  pensions  after  fifteen  years  of 
service,  on  reaching  the  age  of  seventy  years.  The  amounts  are 
reckoned  at  one  per  cent  for  every  year  of  service  of  the  wages 
received  by  the  worker,  determined  by  averaging  his  pay  for  the 
ten  years  preceding  retirement.  The  Western  Electric  Company, 
however,  pays  one  per  cent  for  every  year  of  service,  reckoned  on 
the  basis  of  the  highest  ten  years'  average  earnings.  Most  compa- 
nies paying  pensions  to  their  retired  workers  stipulate  that  the  pen- 


314  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

sion  shall  not  be  less  or  more  than  a  certain  amount.  The  Talbot 
Woolen  Mills  pension  employes  after  thirty-five  years  in  the  ser- 
vice at  half  pay.  The  Westinghouse  Air  Brake  Company  pays 
no  pension  of  less  than  twenty  dollars  or  more  than  seventy  dol- 
lars a  month.  The  minimum  pension  paid  by  the  International 
Harvester  Company  is  eighteen  dollars  a  month,  the  maximum, 
one  hundred  dollars  a  month. 


Ill 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  PHYSICAL,  INTELLECTUAL  AND  SOCIAL 
STATUS  OF  THE  WORKERS. 

Lessening  the  Dangers  of  Work.  A  most  important  function 
of  employers'  welfare  work  is  the  improvement  of  the  physical 
condition  of  the  workers  by  lessening  the  dangers  of  their  work 
and  by  improving  the  working  conditions  in  the  industrial  estab- 
lishments in  which  they  are  employed.  Of  all  the  methods  of  lessen- 
ing the  dangers  of  work  there  is  not  one  which  is  so  beneficial  to  the 
health  of  the  workers  as  shortening  the  hours  of  labor.  The  stren- 
uous activity  characteristic  of  all  modern  factory  work  inevitably 
causes  great  fatigue  and,  if  continued  for  long  periods,  is  inevitably 
followed  by  serious  injuries  to  the  health  of  the  workers.  Hence, 
from  the  very  beginning  of  the  factory  era,  the  workers  and  their 
advocates  have  fought  for  a  reduction  of  the  hours  of  labor  and  for 
the  introduction  of  a  normal  day's  work. 

While  a  shortening  of  the  regular  hours  of  labor  in  an  industrial 
plant  is  not  considered  by  many  employers  as  a  necessary  part  of 
their  welfare  work,  those  employers  who  have  tried  the  experiment 
state  that  a  shortening  of  the  daily  and  weekly  hours  of  labor  has 
resulted  in  better  workmanship  and  in  an  equal  or  increased  output. 

The  Karl  Zeiss  Works  at  Jena  initiated  an  eight-hour  day  in  1902 
upon  a  vote  of  their  employes.  Freese  &  Company  of  Berlin  have 
been  working  on  the  eight-hour  basis  for  over  ten  years.  J.  Cros- 
field  &  Sons,  soap  manufacturers  of  Warrington,  Lancashire,  con- 
duct their  industry  on  the  three  shift  system.  Their  hours  are 
from  6  A.M.  to  2  P.M.  and  from  2  P.M.  to  10  P.M.  and  from  10  P.M. 
to  6  A.M.  This  reduction  in  hours  from  their  former  two  shift  sys- 
tem was  accompanied  by  a  temporary  reduction  in  wages. 

The  Solvay  Process  Company  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  changed  to 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          315 

the  eight-hour  shift  several  years  ago  with  the  very  best  of  results 
for  their  workers  and  their  product.  The  Carhart  Manufacturing 
Company  of  Detroit,  employing  seven  hundred  women  workers, 
mostly  foreigners,  reduced  the  hours  of  work  from  ten  to  eight 
hours  and  found  that  their  eight-hour  output  exceeded  their  ten- 
hour  one.  Their  workers,  of  course,  are  all  paid  by  the  piece. 
This  experience  has  been  repeated  by  many  other  factories  in  America 
where  the  change  of  hours  has  actually  meant  an  increase  in  the 
amount  produced.  Some  employers  who  have  established  a  forty- 
eight  hour  week  have  found  that  their  workers  prefer  to  work^a 
little  longer  five  days  in  the  week  in  order  to  have  a  Saturday  half 
holiday.  This  arrangement  of  hours  is  generally  known  as  the  Eng- 
lish week,  since  this  custom  is  almost  universal  in  England,  where 
the  Saturday  half  holiday  is  a  national  institution. 

Pauses.  In  factories  where  the  work  is  very  monotonous, 
especially  where  girls  or  women  are  employed,  it  has  been  found 
beneficial  to  the  workers  to  allow  brief  pauses  during  the  morning 
and  afternoon  work  periods.  There  are  provisions  in  the  labor 
codes  of  all  states  and  countries  for  midday  pauses.  The  duration 
of  these  pauses  is  from  thirty  to  sixty  minutes.  In  England  the 
law  provides  that  women  and  minors  must  not  remain  at  their 
place  of  work  or  in  the  rooms  where  they  work  during  the  midday 
pause.  In  most  continental  countries  the  law  provides  for  a  one- 
hour  midday  pause  and  for  an  additional  half  hour  pause  divided 
into  a  fifteen-minute  forenoon  pause,  taken  usually  at  10  A.M.,  and 
a  fifteen-minute  afternoon  pause,  taken  usually  at  4  P.M.  A  num- 
ber of  individual  employers  have  adopted  pauses  somewhat  longer 
than  the  ones  required  by  law. 

The  Shredded  Wheat  Company  of  Niagara  Falls  allows  its 
women  workers  twenty  minutes  each  day,  ten  minutes  in  the  morn- 
ing and  ten  minutes  in  the  afternoon,  in  which  they  must  leave 
their  work  and  can  go  to  the  rest  room  or  library  provided  by  the 
Company.  The  length  of  these  rest  periods  is  increased  in  some 
of  the  departments  where  the  work  is  specially  fatiguing. 

The  National  Biscuit  Company  also  gives  two  rest  periods  during 
the  forenoon  and  afternoon,  extending  from  fifteen  to  forty  minutes, ' 
according  to  the  character  of  the  employe's  work.  The  National 
Cash  Register  Company  allows  ten  minutes  morning  and  after- 
noon in  which  calisthenics  are  taught  by  a  competent  teacher. 
The  Thomas  Adams  Company  of  Nottingham,  a  lace-making 
factory,  allows  a  break  at  10  A.M.  and  4  P.M.  for  tea. 


316  THE  MODEEN  FACTORY 

A  writer  in  the  Iron  Age  (May  8,  1913),  says  that 

"  In  the  newest  German  railroad  shops  arrangements  have  been 
made  for  all  mechanics  above  a  certain  age  to  rest.  A  room  has 
been  furnished  with  couches  and  the  men  are  allowed  one  hour  a 
day  at  the  expense  of  the  Company,  divided  into  twenty  minute 
periods,  in  which  they  must  rest." 

Another  means  of  decreasing  the  fatigue  consequent  on  monot- 
onous work  is  to  rotate  the  occupations.  The  National  Biscuit 


Courtesy  Pierce- Arrow  Motor  Car  Co. 

Bakery  in  Works:  All  Bread  and  Pastry  Served  to  Employes  is  Baked  Here. 

Company  changes  its  woman  workers  from  one  kind  of  work  to 
another  where  the  operations  are  particularly  exacting.  This 
system  is  said  to  have  worked  successfully.  In  many  shops,  a 
practical  rotation  of  employment  is  worked  out  by  the  employes 
themselves.  Where  the  work  is  unskilled  in  character,  they  change 
about  among  each  other  without  receiving  directions  from  the 
management.  Over-specialization  of  work  has  sometimes  resulted 
in  serious  labor  conflicts,  as,  when  in  the  glove  industry,  certain 
employers  with  a  view  to  increasing  the  output,  determined  to  have 
the  stitching  of  fingers  and  thumbs  of  gloves  done  by  different 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          317 

sets  of  workers  instead  of  each  girl  performing  the  whole  operation. 
The  workers  struck  in  this  case  for  the  right  to  keep  some  variety 
in  their  occupation.  It  was  a  relief  for  them  to  be  able  to  change 
from  stitching  fingers  to  stitching  thumbs  and  back  again. 

Vacations.  The  custom  of  allowing  factory  workers  a  holiday 
with  pay  is  not  at  all  general.  In  Germany,  the  Karl  Zeiss  Com- 
pany and  the  Freese  Company  allow  their  workers,  after  a  year's 
service,  six  days  holiday  with  pay,  and  if  desired,  six  additional 
days  leave  of  absence  without  pay.  In  England  a  similar  system 
has  been  instituted  by  the  Cadbury  Cocoa  Company  and  Crosfield 
&  Sons.  The  latter  company  grants  this  holiday  only  to  punctual 
workers.  Workers  who  have  been  late  more  than  three  times  dur- 
ing a  year,  unless  they  belong  to  a  shift  beginning  at  6  A.M.,  are 
disqualified  from  receiving  this  vacation. 

In  America,  the  Curtis  Publishing  Company  in  Philadelphia 
grants  one  week's  holiday  with  full  pay  to  all  women  factory  work- 
ers. A  number  of  department  stores  grant  a  vacation  of  one  or 
two  weeks  to  their  women  employees. 

Improved  Food  and  Diet.  Under  certain  circumstances  the 
provision  of  lunch  rooms  for  employes  becomes  a  necessity.  Such 
is  the  case  in  establishments  where  food  products  are  manufactured. 
To  have  the  workers  eating  their  lunches  in  the  work  rooms  would 
not  be  conducive  to  cleanliness;  and  so  in  most  food  factories 
separate  lunch  rooms  are  provided  as  a  matter  of  course.  Separate 
lunch  rooms  are  also  a  necessity  in  lead,  paint,  pottery,  match 
factories,  or  other  establishments  where  dangerous  materials  are 
handled.  Where  the  workers  come  from  a  distance  and  where 
there  are  no  places  near  at  hand  for  them  to  lunch,  some  kind  of 
restaurant  or  cafeteria  or  supplementary  provision  by  the  firm  of 
hot  drinks  or  light  refreshments  becomes  necessary.  On  the  other 
hand,  where  factories  are  situated  in  towns  in  which  the  workers 
have  their  homes  nearby,  lunch  rooms  within  the  factory  are  unneces- 
sary. Lunch  rooms  are  scarcely  ever,  for  example,  found  in  textile 
mills  in  the  New  England  towns.  As  is  customary  in  the  textile 
trade,  an  hour  and  a  half  is  usually  allowed  for  the  midday  meal 
and  the  workers  prefer  to  get  dinner  at  their  homes  nearby. 

The  provision  of  lunch  rooms  for  employes  is  one  of  the  most 
popular  branches  of  welfare  work  and  is  frequently  undertaken 
in  factories  where  no  other  welfare  work  is  carried  on.  The  most 
elementary  method  is  simply  to  provide  an  empty  room  in  the  fac- 
tory or  to  partition  off  a  part  of  the  work  room  and  set  up  tables 


318 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


and  benches  where  the  workers  can  take  their  lunches  which  they 
have  brought  from  home  and  eat  them  apart  from  their  work.  All 
kinds  and  grades  of  lunch  rooms  come  between  this  and  the  elaborate 
dining  rooms  which  provide  a  square  meal  with  two  or  three  courses 
for  all  employes  free  or  at  merely  nominal  sums. 

The  big  industrial  firms  such  as  Friedrich  Bayer  &  Company 
at  ElBerfeld,  Freese  &  Company  at  Berlin,  Krupp  Bros.,  etc.,  all 
provide  beautiful  dining  rooms  where  the  workers  can  buy  nourish- 


Courtesy  New  York  Telephone  Co. 
Operators'  Dining  Room. 

ing  food  prepared  in  a  scientific  manner  with  wholesome  materials, 
at  cost  or  free  to  needy  workers.  In  England,  W.  P.  Hartley  & 
Company  in  their  jam  factory  at  Aintree  have  a  beautiful  dining 
hall  for  their  workers.  At  Port  Sunlight  in  the  Cadbury  Cocoa 
Company  similar  provision  is  made.  J.  Crosfield  &  Sons  provide 
a  very  substantial  midday  dinner  with  meat  and  vegetables  for 
sixpence,  pudding  a  penny  extra. 

The  United  Shoe  Machinery  Company  at  Beverly,  Mass.,  has 
a   separate   restaurant   for   men   and   women   workers   where   food 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK 


319 


is  sold  at  a  low  cost.     A  similar  plan  is  followed  at  the  works  of  the 
Thomas    G.    Plant    Company    at   Boston,    Mass.     The    Shredded 


Wheat  Company  in  their  factory  at  Niagara  Falls  have  a  large 
lunch    room   for   their    women    employes.     The   price   of   articles 


320 


THE  MODERN  FACTOEY 


on  the  menu  is  stated  and  each  employe  is  allowed  food  to  the 
amount  of  fifteen  cents  free.  The  prices  charged  do  not  cover  the 
cost  of  the  food. 

The  Pierce- Arrow  Company  maintains  a  dining  room  in  connec- 
tion with  which  is  a  bakery  and  butcher  shop.     A  hot  lunch  is  fur- 
nished for  fifteen  cents,  consisting  of  meat  or  fish,  potatoes,  vege- 
table and  pudding.     The  National  Lamp  Works  maintains  cafe- 
terias and  lunch  rooms  in  eighteen  factories  where  soups,  sandwiches 


>yai  Worcester  Corset  Co. 


Dining  Hall  for  Employes. 


and  hot  and  cold  drinks  prepared  scientifically  according  to  stand- 
ard recipes  are  supplied. 

On  the  other  hand,  some  employers  who  have  provided  lunch 
rooms  and  restaurants  for  their  workers  have  had  to  abandon  them 
as  they  were  not  sufficiently  used.  This  is  the  case  with  the  National 
Cash  Register  Company,  where  the  workers  preferred  to  go  to  their 
homes  for  luncheon  rather  than  use  the  company's  restaurant. 
The  Pratt  &  Letchworth  Company  also  started  a  dining  room 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFAEE  WORK          321 

which  they  were  forced  to  abandon  later  as  it  was  not  used  by  the 
employes. 

Many  factories  do  not  provide  lunch  or  dinner,  but  allow  the 
workers  to  make  tea  or  coffee  on  the  premises  or  provide  hot  drinks 
at  cost  to  their  employes  in  the  noon  hour.  Some  factory  dining 
rooms  in  the  large  model  establishments  are  really  beautiful  rooms, 
large,  airy  and  charmingly  decorated.  The  lunch  room  in  the  new 
building  of  the  Curtis  Publishing  Company  at  Philadelphia,  where 
women  employes  eat  their  lunch,  has  frescoes  done  by  Maxfield 
Parrish.  The  dining  room  of  the  Lever  Bros.  Works  at  Port  Sun- 
light looks  more  like  the  interior  of  a  banqueting  hall  of  the  Middle 
Ages  than  an  annex  to  a  factory. 

The  following  rules  which  the  Shredded  Wheat  Company  has 
issued  to  its  kitchen  management  show  the  care  which  some  employ- 
ers take  in  the  hygienic  feeding  of  their  employes : 

"  All  fruits  and  vegetables  to  be  served  raw  shall  be  washed  in 
sterilized  water.  Under  no  circumstances — even  for  the  first 
washing — shall  water  be  utilized  unless  same  has  been  steri- 
lized." 

"  Sterilized  water  must  be  procured  from  the  appliance  located 
in  the  office  of  the  janitor." 

"  Milk  and  cream  shall  be  strained  through  a  cheese  cloth  pre- 
vious to  its  being  placed  in  the  special  refrigerator." 

"  A  sample  weighing  100  grams  shall  be  taken  from  every  can. 
of  milk  received  daily,  immediately  upon  its  arrival,  and  same  sent 
to  the  chief  of  the  department." 

"  A  second  sample  of  100  grams  shall  be  taken  from  every  can 
of  milk,  and  same  placed  in  a  glass  container  with  25  grams  of 
bichromate  of  potash,  and  the  following  days  of  the  week  a  like 
sample  must  be  placed  in  the  container  without  the  addition  of 
bichromate  of  potash,  and  this  composite  be  submitted  at  the  end 
of  the  week  to  the  chief  of  the  department." 

"  Fresh  meats  delivered  to  the  kitchen  shall  be  carefully  examined 
by  the  chief  and  an  immediate  report  be  made  when  same  is  not 
in  a  perfect  state." 

"  Inspection  of  hams  shall  be  made  by  partly  splitting  same 
and  completely  removing  the  bones  so  that  the  flesh  is  exposed." 

"  Discolorations,  bruises,  wounds  or  cuts  inflicted  previous  to 
the  slaughter  of  the  animal  shall  be  sufficient  cause  for  rejection 
of  all  fresh  or  salt  meats." 

"  The  chef  shall  open  and  inspect  upon  arrival,  all  packages 
containing  fresh  fish.  Should  the  package  contain  no  ice  and  the 
flesh  be  otherwise  than  firm,  and  the  eyes  bright,  the  fish  shall  be 
declared  unfit  for  use.  The  lack  of  sufficient  ice  pertains  to  the 
summer  season  onlv." 


322  .     THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

"  Only  fresh  green  cabbage — not  any  that  has  been  kept  in 
storage  or  in  the  cellar — shall  be  used  to  be  served  raw,  and  only 
during  the  period  of  the  year  when  such  can  be  obtained;  cabbage 
kept  in  the  cellar,  or  having  the  outside  leaves  partially  dried  or 
decomposed,  shall  be  utilized  only  after  thorough  cooking." 

"  Canned  fruit  or  vegetables  shall  be  used  only  when  the  market 
does  not  offer  sufficient  variety  of  fresh  articles." 

"  When  making  use  of  canned  fruit  or  vegetables,  the  chef  shall 
see  that  all  cans  are  opened  and  not  emptied  until  he  has  inspected 
the  contents  of  each  can." 

"  It  is  strictly  forbidden  to  utilize  cold  storage  eggs  for  the 
making  of  any  article  in  which  the  eggs  are  not  thoroughly  cooked. 
Cold  storage  eggs  must  not  be  used  in  the  making  of  sherbets,  Eng- 
lish creams,  meringues  or  mayonaise," 


In  this  country  as  well  as  abroad,  a  great  many  employers  make 
an  attempt  to  combat  the  use  of  alcohol  by  their  employes.  I 
was  very  much  interested  to  find  that  one  of  the  largest  brewing 
concerns  in  the  world,  that  of  Shulteis,  Berlin,  discouraged  the 
drinking  of  beer  by  their  employes  during  meal  time,  and  supplied 
them  instead  with  tea  and  coffee  free,  a  practice  which  has  resulted 
in  a  decrease  of  more  than  fifty  per  cent  in  the  consumption  of 
alcoholic  drinks.  The  same  practice  is  followed  in  a  great  number 
of  establishments  in  Germany. 

In  certain  factories  where  specially  dangerous  materials  are 
handled,  the  employers  furnish  the  workers  with  special  drinks 
which  are  considered  as  prophylactic  against  the  action  of  poisons. 
Thus,  the  Pullman  Company  at  Pullman,  Illinois,  encourages  the 
drinking  of  milk;  and  several  wagon  loads  of  milk  are  sold  daily 
to  the  employes  in  the  lead  branches  of  the  establishment. 

Improvement  of  Working  Conditions.  Industrial  codes  con- 
tain more  or  less  detailed  statements  as  to  the  working  conditions 
required  by  law.  These  laws  contain  provisions  for  safety  and  pre- 
vention of  accidents  in  factories,  for  the  construction  of  indus- 
trial establishments,  for  fire  protection  and  fire  prevention,  for 
light,  ventilation,  heating,  washing  and  other  sanitary  comforts 
within  the  factory.  The  provisions  of  the  law  give  the  minimum 
requirements,  but  many  employers  go  much  further  and  provide 
their  workers  with  more  comforts  than  required  by  legislation, 
and  seek  to  improve  their  working  conditions  far  beyond  the  require- 
ments of  the  statutes.  In  so  far  as  these  improvements  represent 
a  voluntary  contribution  on  the  part  of  the  employers,  they  con- 
stitute real  employers'  welfare  work. 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK 


323 


Employers  differ  in  the  working  conditions  which  they  endeavor 
to  improve.  Some  employers  take  pride  in  constructing  model 
factories;  others  try  to  beautify  the  grounds  and  surroundings. 
Many  employers  make  special  provision  for  the  absolute  fire  pro-  J 
tection  of  their  workers.  Other  employers  introduce  artificial 
ventilation,  special  methods  of  heating,  improved  lighting,  etc. 
At  present  many  employers  are  paying  great  attention  to  the  safety 
of  employes.  Some  large  corporations  spend  great  sums  annually  on 


Courtesy  Adler  Bros.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Reading  Room  for  Employes. 

this  form  of  welfare  work.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  United  States  Steel 
Corporation  spent  during  1912  the  enormous  sum  of  $1,068,253.02 
for  sanitation  and  welfare  work  of  all  sorts;  while  if  we  include 
the  expenditures  for  relief  of  men  injured  and  killed,  for  accident 
prevention,  for  the  pension  fund,  and  other  expenditures  for  improv- 
ing the  condition  of  the  workmen,  the  aggregate  amount  spent 
during  1912  reaches  the  enormous  sum  of  $6,166,364.82. 

Improved  washing,  dressing  and  bathing  facilities  are  a  part  of 
the  welfare  work  in  many  establishments.     In  some  of  the  factories, 


324 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


model  wash  rooms  and  dressing  rooms  with  lockers  for  each  employe 
are  splendidly  located,  with  plenty  of  light  and  ventilation,  and  so 
arranged  that  employes  are  encouraged  to  be  clean  and  to  keep  so. 
In  some  establishments  not  only  are  washrooms  and  dressing  rooms 
provided,  but  the  workmen  are  properly  supervised  in  the  use  of 
these  sanitary  facilities.  Thus,  at  the  Pullman  Works  in  Pullman, 
Illinois,  I  found  a  splendid  arrangement  by  which  the  washing  of  the 
hands  of  the  employes  during  noon  time  was  supervised  by  a 


Courtesy  New  York  Telephone  Co. 

Reading  Room  for  Operators. 


foreman  and  several  assistants  who  saw  that  the  workmen  used  the 
individual  soap,  basins  and  towels  supplied  to  them,  and  inspected 
the  hands  of  the  employes  when  they  were  on  their  way  to  the  lunch 
room.  This  supervision  is  specially  valuable  for  workers  who 
handle  poisonous  materials. 

The  extent  of  the  bathing  facilities  afforded  by  any  concern 
is  partly  conditioned  by  the  kind  of  work  done.  Naturally,  in  large 
establishments  producing  food  products  on  a  large  scale,  the  most 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK 


325 


scrupulous  care  must  be  observed.  In  factories  where  the  materials 
handled  are  dangerous  to  health,  such  as  white  lead,  match  or  chem- 
ical factories,  it  is  necessary  to  have  more  extensive  arrangements 
for  bathing  than  in  places  where  the  materials  are  harmless.  The 


elaborate  bathing  facilities  provided  in  such  cases  are  not  a  part 
of  welfare  work,  but  rather  meet  the  demand  of  the  public  that  food 
stuffs  shall  be  produced  in  a  cleanly  manner,  and  that  industries 
involving  special  danger  to  the  health  of  the  workers  shall  take 
special  precautions. 


326  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

In  England  and  on  the  continent,  factories  which  use  dangerous 
chemicals,  white  lead  and  phosphorous,  are  required  to  install 
baths  for  their  workers.  In  the  United  States,  there  are  no  special 
legal  requirements  made  and  many  employers  who  should  be  leaders 
in  providing  adequate  bathing  facilities  for  workers  in  dangerous 
trades  have  not  yet  realized  the  necessity. 

Apart  from  such  industries,  there  are  others  where  the  bathing 
facilities  provided  may  be  considered  as  a  part  of  the  welfare  work 
of  the  firm;  that  is  to  say,  these  additional  arrangements  are  not 
necessitated  by  the  character  of  the  industry  or  by  the  legal 
requirements  of  the  country,  but  are  simply  undertaken  by  the 
employer  for  the  purpose  of  adding  to  the  wellbeing  and  enjoy- 
ment of  his  workers. 

Such  are  the  arrangements  at  the  Cadbury  Cocoa  Factory  at 
Bournville,  where  there  are  large  swimming  baths  for  the  men 
and  women.  Lever  Bros.,  with  their  factory  at  Port  Sunlight, 
provide  free  shower  baths  for  the  use  of  all  their  employes.  At 
the  factory  of  J.  Crosfield  &  Sons,  all  the  boys  and  girls  are  taught 
to  swim  when  they  have  reached  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  The  time 
lost  and  the  cost  of  the  swimming  lessons  are  borne  by  the  firm. 

In  Germany,  the  Krupp  Company  provides  shower  baths  at 
their  mines  at  Hanover,  and  shower  and  plunge  baths  for  their 
workers  in  their  factory  at  Essen.  The  Karl  Zeiss  Foundation 
built  public  swimming  baths  in  the  town  of  Jena  where  the  works 
are  situated,  and  all  employes  have  the  right  to  fifty-two  baths 
a  year  at  half  price.  Of  course,  on  the  continent  the  workers  are 
accustomed  to  pay  for  baths,  and  bathing  facilities  such  as  are  com- 
mon in  America  are  not  found  in  working  class  homes  abroad. 

The  Badische  Analin  and  Soda  Fabrik  at  Ludwigshafen  has 
529  shower  baths.  The  workers  in  their  color  department  where 
lead  paints  are  manufactured  are  compelled  to  bathe  once  a  day. 
In  this  country,  the  Solvay  Chemical  Works  provides  plain  and 
mineral  baths  free  for  all  its  workers. 

The  provision  of  shower  baths  in  large  establishments  is  very 
common.  The  workers,  however,  do  not  always  use  them  unless 
the  company  allows  them  time  during  working  hours.  This  is 
done  by  the  National  Cash  Register  Company  at  Dayton,  Ohio, 
which  allows  each  employe  twenty  minutes  twice  a  week  during 
the  summer  on  the  company's  time  to  take  a  plunge  or  shower 
bath.  Pretty  &  Son,  an  English  factory,  allow  their  girls  to  bathe 
on  the  company's  time  during  factory  hours  and  charge  one  penny 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          327 

a  bath.  The  Weston  Electrical  Instrument  Company  provides 
individual  wash  basins  with  soap,  mirror  and  locker  for  each 
worker.  It  also  has  a  swimming  tank  and  shower  baths.  A 
similar  arrangement  is  made  by  the  Fierce-Arrow  Company  of 
Buffalo,  New  York. 

Recreation.     Another  branch  of  welfare  work  which  has  devel- 
oped quite  extensively  consists  in  the  provisions  made  for  rest  and 
recreation  of  employes  both  during  and  after  working  hours.     This 
type  of  welfare  work  usually  starts  in  factories  where  many  women 
workers  are  employed  by  providing  rest  rooms  to  be  used  .during 
lunch  hour  or  during  brief  pauses  in  the  morning  or  afternoon. 
Sometimes  this  rest  room  is  simply  a  corner  of  a  work  room  par- 
titioned off  and  provided  with  one  or  two  comfortable  chairs,  a  sofa* 
and  a  few  magazines.     From  this  beginning,  the  idea  has  developed1 
with  many  ramifications  until  it  reaches  its  height  in  the  great  in- 
dustrial plants  which  have  built  clubhouses  with  every  facility  for 
outdoor  and  indoor  sports  and  games,  great  halls  for  entertainments 
and  lectures,  separate  rooms  within  the  factory  building  for  music 
and  dancing  during  the  noon  hour,  separate  rest  rooms  for  men  and 
women   workers,    and   every   provision   for   amusement,   rest   and 
change  that  ordinary  mortals  require. 

The  Friedrich  Bayer  Company  at  Leverkussen  have  a  beauti- 
ful clubhouse  for  the  use  of  all  their  workers,  with  restaurants,  cafes, 
rooms  for  billiards,  a  lecture  hall  and  theatre,  and  small  rooms  for 
meetings  of  committees  and  societies  of  workers.  All  the  social 
life  of  the  workers  centers  in  this  hall  and  the  entertainments  pre- 
pared by  the  various  clubs  take  place  there. 

In  the  Karl  Zeiss  Works  an  opposite  course  is  followed  on  prin- 
ciple. No  workers'  organizations  of  the  employes  for  purposes  of 
recreation  and  amusement  have  been  formed  except  a  football 
club  and  a  singing  society.  For  the  rest,  the  workers  (as  was 
desired  by  the  founder  of  the  Stiftung)  mingle  in  the  social  life  of 
the  town  and  develop  their  own  pleasures  according  to  their  indi- 
vidual tastes. 

i  In  England,  J.  Crosfield  &  Sons  have  a  recreation  club  with 
grounds  for  tennis,  cricket,  football,  hockey  and  bowling.  The 
dues  for  this  club  are  a  penny  a  week.  The  management  has  also 
developed  an  operatic  society  of  the  workers  which  produces  comic 
operas.  Every  Saturday  a  dance  is  held  at  the  works  with  a  six- 
penny admission  fee.  The  proceeds  of  the  dance  go  to  local  char- 
ities. 


328 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Similar  clubs  exist  at  the  Cadbury  Cocoa  Works,   Rowntree 
&  Bros,  at  York,  and  at  Lever  Bros',  factory  at  Port  Sunlight. 
In  America,  most  of  the  large  industrial  establishments  provide 


rest  rooms  for  their  women  workers  and  many  of  them  provide  some 
form  of  entertainment  during  part  of  the  lunch  hour.  The  United 
Shoe  Machinery  Company  has  separate  rest  and  lounging  rooms 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK 


329 


for  the  men  and  women  workers,  each  furnished  comfortably  and 
having  a  piano  and  reading  matter.  A  short  distance  outside 
of  Beverly  is  a  clubhouse,  built  and  given  to  the  workers  by  the 
management,  which  contains  a  theatre,  auditorium,  library  and 
bowling  alleys.  In  connection  with  the  Employes'  Athletic  Asso- 
ciation is  a  gun  club  and  arrangements  are  made  for  football,  cricket 
and  other  games.  The  affairs  of  the  clubhouse  are  administered 


Courtesy  Utlca  Drop  Forge  and  Tool  Co. 

Shooting  Gallery  (to  left)  and  Bowling  Alleys  in  Clubhouse  for  Employes. 

by  an  athletic  association  and  seventy-five  per  cent  of  its  members 
must  be  employes. 

The  National  Lamp  Works  provides  rest  rooms  for  its  women 
workers  in  all  of  its  eighteen  factories.  The  National  Cash  Register 
Company  has  a  club  house  similar  to  the  one  at  the  United  Shoe 
Machinery  Company,  where 'all  recreational  and  athletic  activities 
of  the  employes  center.  In  addition,  there  are  within  this  factory 
rest  rooms  and  sitting  rooms  for  the  women  workers.  In  the  Weston 
Electrical  Instrument  Company  the  men  workers  are  not  neglected, 
for  in  one  wing  of  the  factory  a  room  has  been  fitted  up  as  a  recrea- 


330  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

tion  hall  with  a  pianola,  billiards  and  other  games.  Once  a  fort- 
night entertainments  are  held  at  this  hall.  The  J.  Bancroft  Com- 
pany of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  also  provide  recreation  and  smoking 
rooms  for  the  men  workers.  The  International  Harvester  Company 
has  handsome  clubhouses  in  connection  with  its  works,  which  are 
convenient  centers  for  recreation. 

While  many  of  these  provisions  for  rest  and  recreation  are 
enjoyed  and  utilized  by  the  workers,  in  some  cases  they  do  not  seem 


Courtesy  Uttca  Drop  Forge  and  Tool  Co. 

Dance  Hall,  Clubhouse  for  Employes. 

to  be  desired.  The  Pocasset  Worsted  Company  near  Providence, 
R.  I.,  built  a  handsome  clubhouse  at  an  expenditure  of  about 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  containing  reading  rooms,  billiard  rooms, 
bowling  alleys  and  a  large  auditorium;  but  the  workers  never  used 
the  clubhouse  in  sufficient  numbers  to  justify  the  expenditure. 

Factories  situated  in  large  industrial  centers  do  not  find  that 
elaborate  provisions  for  recreation  or  entertainments  of  their 
workers  meet  with  much  response,  since  the  workers  usually  prefer 
to  find  their  own  amusement  and  recreation  in  the  town;  but  where 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK  331 

the  factory  is  situated  in  the  country  or  in  a  small  town  in  which 
there  are  only  limited  opportunities  for  rest  and  recreation,  such 
undertakings  are  apt  to  prove  more  successful.  Most  employers 
state  that  it  is  necessary  to  get  the  workers  to  undertake  the  man- 
agement of  the  clubs  or  recreation  centers  provided  by  the  man- 
agement, and  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  furnish  too  much  without  re- 
quiring the  workers  to  pay  for  their  privileges  or  to  undertake 
responsibilities  in  connection  with  them. 

One  of  the  first  corporations  to  institute  this  form  of  welfare 
work  was  the  United  States  Steel  Company,  which  built  a  club 
near  its  works  in  Joliet  at  a  cost  of  about  $53,000.  The  manage- 
ment thought  that  the  improved  social  and  intellectual  conditions 
resulting  among  the  employes  would  not  only  promote  their  wel- 
fare, but  advance  the  interests  of  the  company.  The  clubhouse 
building  has  a  gymnasium,  tennis  courts,  showers  and  swimming 
pool,  an  auditorium,  a  library  and  a  music  room.  The  members 
pay  $1.00  a  year,  which  entitles  them  to  all  the  benefits  of  the  club. 
The  management,  however,  admits  that  the  membership  of  the 
club  fluctuates.  In  1893  the  membership  was  300,  in  1895,  1200; 
in  1897,  500;  in  1899,  650.* 

The  use  of  music  and  singing  during  working  hours  as  a  means 
of  stimulating  the  workers  has  developed  in  several  factories  where 
the  character  of  the  work  has  made  this  possible.  In  many  small 
dressmaking  or  millinery  shops  it  has  long  been  the  custom  for  some 
one  to  read  aloud  during  working  hours;  or  the  workers  themselves 
burst  into  song.  Henkel  &  Company  in  their  works  at  Dussel- 
dorf  impress  upon  their  forewomen  the  importance  of  singing  because 
"  it  prevents  the  girls  from  talking,  the  girls  thus  stick  to  their  work 
and  more  is  done  than  without  the  singing." 

The  Care  of  Health.  The  improvement  of  the  physical  condi- 
tion of  the  workers  is  one  of  the  most  important  aspects  of  em- 
ployers' welfare  work.  Most  occupations  have  a  certain  element  of 
danger  in  them  and  practically  all  industries  demand  good  physique 
and  health  on  the  part  of  the  employes.  Good  health  is  important 
not  only  to  the  workers,  but  to  factory  efficiency.  Hence,  all 
measures  which  tend  to  improve  the  health  of  the  workers  are  of 
great  benefit  to  the  workers  themselves,  to  the  employers  and  to 
the  industry. 

In  certain  trades  special  dangers  exist,  either  because  of  the 

*  Victor  H.  Olmstead:  "Betterment  of  Industrial  Conditions,"  Bulletin  No.  31,  Dept.  of 
Labor,  November,  1900. 


332 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


dangerous  machinery,  hazardous  processes  or  materials  employed. 
Moreover,  in  many  industrial  establishments  there  are  women  and 
minors  whose  health  needs  care  and  who  are  specially  susceptible 
to  the  dangers  and  hazards  of  trades. 

The  form  of  employers'  welfare  work  which  is  usually  installed 
for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  health  of  the  workers  consists 
in  the  provision  of  (a)  rest  and  emergency  rooms,  (6)  first  aid 


Medical  Chest  in  a  Factory. 


facilities,  (c)  dispensaries  and  hospitals,  (d)  nursing  staff,  and  (e) 
general  medical  care  and  supervision. 

In  every  industrial  establishment  some  suitable  place  should 
be  provided  where  an  employe  feeling  suddenly  ill  may  rest.  At 
present  nearly  every  large  industrial  establishment  has  a  special 
rest  or  emergency  room,  where  employes  who  suddenly  faint  or 
become  temporarily  ill,  are  given  first  aid  treatment.  Some  of 
these  rooms  are  splendidly  lighted,  ventilated  and  cheerful,  and  are 
equipped  with  beds  and  all  first  aid  facilities. 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          333 

It  is  rather  general  to  find  some  form  of  first  aid  equipment  in 
the  large  American  factories.  The  kind  of  equipment,  its  location 
and  the  methods  of  using  it,  differ  very  much.  Sometimes  the  first 
aid  equipment  consists  simply  of  a  wooden  box  in  which  there  is  a 
miscellaneous  collection  of  patent  medicines,  a  roll  of  lint  and  some 
kind  of  disinfectant.  The  employes  help  themselves  when  injured  as 
best  they  can.  Sometimes  the  foreman  of  a  department  has  charge 


Courtesy  Norton  Company,  Worcester,  Mass. 

First  Aid  Equipment. 

of  the  outfit,  and  if  he  has  been  instructed  in  his  duties  and  under- 
stands the  necessity  for  antiseptic  care,  he  may  meet  emergencies 
successfully.  First  aid  equipment,  however,  should  not  be  left  to 
chance,  and  should  contain  not  only  standard  articles  needed  for 
all  cases  of  possible  injuries  occurring  within  the  shop,  but  also  such 
additional  articles  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  special  kind  of  fac- 
tory for  which  the  equipment  is  intended,  and  competent  persons 
should  be  appointed  to  handle  the  materials. 


334  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

In  factories  where  severe  injuries,  such  as  cuts,  amputations, 
fractures  and  dislocations  occur,  special  provision  must  be  made 
for  stopping  the  flow  of  blood  and  temporary  splints  provided  for 
such  emergencies.  In  factories  where  electric  or  traumatic  shock, 
sudden  collapse,  gassing  or  acute  intoxication  of  workers  may  occur, 
arrangements  must  be  made  for  resuscitation  by  pulmotors  or  other 
means.  The  pulmotor  has  proved  itself  to  be  a  reliable  instru- 
ment in  certain  cases  of  asphyxiation,  and  is  probably  the  best 
mechanical  means  for  producing  artificial  respiration.  Where  no 
such  instrument  is  available,  some  one  connected  with  the  establish- 
ment should  be  instructed  in  the  ordinary  methods  of  first  aid  and 
artificial  respiration. 

There  are  a  number  of  standard  outfits  for  first  aid  on  the  mar- 
ket, most  of  them  more  or  less  valuable.  It  is  important,  however, 
to  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  devise  a  standard  outfit 
to  suit  all  establishments  and  locations,  and  that  it  is  neces- 
sary to  take  into  consideration  the  special  conditions  in  each 
factory. 

A  number  of  American  industrial  plants  have  already  made 
more  or  less  adequate  provision  for  dispensaries  and  hospitals  con- 
nected with  their  establishments.  In  these  dispensaries,  sudden 
injuries  as  well  as  more  or  less  chronic  ailments  of  the  workers  in 
the  factory  are  treated  by  one  or  more  physicians  attached  to  these 
establishments.  The  location  and  equipment  of  some  of  these 
dispensaries  and  clinics  leave  much  to  be  desired,  although  in  a 
number  of  plants  they  are  above  reproach. 

Emergency  hospitals  with  physicians  in  constant  attendance 
are  maintained  by  the  General  Electric  Company,  the  Westing- 
house  Air  Brake  Company,  the  Westinghouse  Electric  Company, 
and  many  other  industrial  establishments.  Physicians  and  medical 
assistants  are  often  employed  as  a  regular  staff  attached  to  the 
establishment.  The  Western  Electric  Company  at  Hawthorne, 
111.,  has  an  emergency  hospital  with  physicians  and  nurses  in  con- 
stant attendance.  The  National  Cash  Register  Company  has  a 
hygiene  department  of  four  rooms  in  charge  of  a  physician  and  nurse, 
and  assistants  are  in  constant  attendance.  The  Jeffrey  Manu- 
facturing Company  at  Columbus,  O.,  has  found  that  its  emer- 
gency hospital  with  physicians  and  nurse  in  charge  has  saved  a  great 
deal  of  time  which  was  formerly  lost  by  its  workers  through 
slight  injuries  which  became  infected  through  lack  of  immediate 
antiseptic  treatment. 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK 


335 


In  some  of  the  large  industrial  plants  abroad  I  found  splendid 
provision  made  for  medical  care  and  treatment  of  employes.  Per- 
haps the  most  extensive  work  of  this  kind  is  carried  on  by  the 
Friedrich  Bayer  Company  at  Elberfeld  and  Leverkussen.  Here 
they  maintain  not  only  first  aid  rooms,  emergency  rooms,  clinics, 
dispensaries,  regular  hospitals  and  convalescent  homes,  but  they 
have  also  provided  tuberculosis  sanatoria  and  homes  for  special 
treatment  of  delicate  and  defective  workers  and  their  offspring. 


Courtesy  Eastman  Kodak  Co. 


Emergency  Hospital  Room  for  Employes. 


A  similar  supervision  of  the  health  of  the  workers  is  undertaken 
by  the  Chatillon  Company  of  France.  Dispensaries,  clinics  and 
free  milk  stations  are  maintained.  The  Company  also  maintains 
a  creche  for  children  from  fifteen  days  to  three  years  old,  has  a 
free  midwife  service,  and  maintains  the  necessary  hospitals  without 
charge.  The  government  tobacco  works  in  Austria  have  splendid 
hospitals  and  clinics  attached  to  each  factory.  Male  and  female 
physicians  are  employed  on  full  time  and  the  health  of  the  em- 
ploy es  is  minutely  supervised. 


336  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  custom  is  developing  in  large  factories  of  employing  a  nurse 
or  a  nursing  staff  who  not  only  assist  in  the  emergency  room,  first 
aid  clinics  and  dispensaries,  but  also  look  after  the  health  of  the 
individual  workers  in  the  factory,  visit  absent  workers  in  their 
homes  and  assist  them  in  case  of  illness  either  of  a  worker  or  a  mem- 
ber of  his  family.  Indeed,  a  new  class  of  factory  nurses  is  develop- 
ing, whose  work  is  extremely  beneficial  and  is  surely  destined  to  extend 
its  field.  In  an  article  on  "  Factory  Nursing/'  in  the  Public 
Health  Nurse  Quarterly  for  April,  1913,  an  experienced  nurse  says: 

"  The  nurse  in  a  mill  will  find  herself  called  upon  to  care  for 
burns  and  wounds  of  all  sorts  while  the  nurse  in  a  "  store  "  will 
have  more  cases  of  faintness,  headache,  indigestion,  with  occasional 
cuts  and  falls.  To  render  immediate  assistance  in  all  such  emer- 
gencies, to  give  after  care,  at  the  shop  in  case  the  patient  is  able  to 
go  on  working,  at  the  home  in  more  serious  cases,  is  the  primary 
work  of  most  factory  nurses.  Other  curative  work  is  also  to  be 
done,  however,  in  the  homes.  A  list  of  absent  employes  may  be 
given  her,  that  she  may  ascertain  if  the  absence  is  caused  by  ill- 
ness either  of  the  worker  himself  or  in  his  family.  Employes  may  be 
asked  to  call  for  her  advice  in  case  of  any  illness  among  their  fam- 
ilies even  though  they  are  not  kept  at  home  by  it  themselves/' 
.  .  .  "  This  service  opens  the  door  of  opportunity  for  other  and 
more  important  service  of  an  educative  type.  The  care  that  a  nurse 
gives  soon  makes  her  the  friend  of  her  patient.  As  a  friend  she  gains 
his  confidence  and  can  often  persuade  him  to  take  advice  which, 
coming  from  another,  would  fall  on  deaf  ears.  Unhygienic  living 
is  at  the  bottom  of  many  of  the  ills  she  finds." 
...  .  "  With  this  great  field  of  usefulness  open  to  the  factory  nurse 
it  must,  however,  be  said  that  her  best  work  can  be  done  only  under 
the  best  conditions.  An  employer  who  wants  no  preventive  sug- 
gestions from  her,  a  foreman  who  believes  that  '  all  this  antiseptic 
stuff  is  nonsense  and  a  cud  of  tobacco  would  be  just  as  good  a  cure 
or  better  '  may  render  her  work  difficult  or  vain," 

In  some  of  the  large  establishments  located  in  cities  or  towns, 
special  arrangements  are  made  either  with  physicians  living  in  the 
neighborhood  or  with  hospitals  and  dispensaries  situated  nearby 
for  taking  care  of  injured  and  diseased  employes. 

The  care  of  the  teeth  of  the  workers  is  beginning  to  receive 
attention  from  employers  who  wish  to  be  up  to  date  in  their  wel- 
fare work.  Rowntree  Bros.,  in  their  factory  at  York,  England, 
employ  a  dentist  to  attend  to  the  teeth  of  their  workers.  Few 
American  employers,  however,  have  as  yet  introduced  this  inno- 
vation in  welfare  work. 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          337 

Perhaps  the  most  extensive  provisions  for  first  aid  and  rescue 
work  are  made  by  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation.  All  the 
companies  of  the  Corporation  have  first  aid  and  rescue  crews  made 
up  of  specially  trained  employes.  It  is  purely  voluntary,  brut  before 
anyone  is  allowed  to  enter  the  work  he  must  have  a  doctor's  certi- 
ficate showing  that  he  is  physically  fit  to  undertake  it.  The  system 
varies  a  little  in  each  company,  but  the  general  plan  is  the  same. 
The  organization  consists  of  a  first  aid  crew  of  from  four  to  six  men 


Coutesy  National  Cash  Register  Co..  Dayton,  O. 

Emergency  Hospital  Room. 

who  are  trained  by  the  company's  doctor.  Instructions  are  given 
to  them  by  the  physician,  and  the  training  of  the  men  for  the  work 
goes  on  continually.  Rescue  crews  of  from  five  to  eight  men  are 
also  assigned  to  each  first  aid  crew.  In  some  of  the  companies 
they  have  also  a  special  rescue  crew  and  a  special  operating  room 
with  the  necessary  sterilizing  equipment,  and  an  ample  supply  of 
drugs  and  medicines.  They  are  also  instructed  in  the  use  of  flash 
lights,  the  life  line,  pulmotors  and  resuscitating  packs. 

The  H.  C.  Frick  Coke  Company  have  a  corps  who  are  well 
trained  and  drilled  in  special  rescue  training  stations. 


338 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK          339 

Not  many  industrial  establishments  have  as  yet  a  complete 
system  of  medical  supervision  of  their  workers.  By  such  a  system 
is  meant  one  that  embraces  the  following  features:  (1)  preliminary 
compulsory  examination  of  all  applicants  and  candidates  for  posi- 
tions in  the  establishment,  and  rejection  of  all  candidates  below 
a  certain  standard  of  physique  or  having  physical  defects;  (2) 
periodical,  monthly  or  semi-annual  physical  examination  of  all 
employes  within  the  establishment;  (3)  complete  care  of  the  health 
of  the  workers  including  prophylactic  as  well  as  curative  treatment 
for  all  injuries  and  ills  discovered  while  the  persors  are  in  the  employ 
of  the  establishment. 

It  is  evident  that  such  a  full  medical  supervision  would  be  of 
the  greatest  benefit  to  the  workers  as  well  as  to  the  establishments 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  tendency  of  modern  industrial 
development  is  such  that  an  extension  of  medical  supervision  of 
workers  is  bound  to  be  accepted  as  a  standard  of  industrial  wel- 
fare work.  The  time  is  not  distant  when  every  large  industrial 
establishment  will  consider  the  employment  of  a  competent  physician 
at  full  time  for  the  medical  supervision  of  their  employes  as  neces- 
sary as  the  employment  of  a  superintendent  of  production,  or 
efficiency  engineer. 

At  present  some  splendid  examples  of  medical  supervision  are 
given  by  the  Norton  Company  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  Sears,  Roe- 
buck &  Company,  the  International  Harvester  Company,  Swift 
&  Company,  and  many  other  large  American  concerns. 

Educational  Work.  Many  employers  rightly  regard  intellectual 
improvement  as  a  great  benefit  to  their  working  force.  The  workers 
begin  to  come  into  the  factory  at  the  age  of  from  fourteen  to  six- 
teen, when  their  education  has  been  very  limited.  The  further 
development  of  these  young  workers  as  well  as  of  those  who  are 
older  is  of  great  importance  to  the  workers  themselves  as  well  as 
beneficial  to  the  efficiency  of  the  establishment.  Many  employers, 
therefore,  have  introduced  continuation  schools,  apprenticeship 
education,  corporation  schools,  libraries,  etc. 

Libraries.  Industrial  establishments  situated  in  cities  or  towns 
where  there  are  many  advantages  do  not  provide  educational  facili- 
ties for  their  workers,  such  as  are  provided  by  employers  whose 
factories  are  in  lonely  districts  in  the  country.  Railroad  machine 
shops,  construction  camps,  and  works  carried  on  in  connection  with 
mining  and  engineering  operations,  are  apt  to  have  considerable 
libraries  for  their  employes.  Some  corporations  have  traveling 


340  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

libraries  which  are  sent  about  from  one  factory  to  another.  The 
success  of  a  factory  library  depends  upon  well  chosen  books,  and 
its  accessibility.  It  was  found  in  one  large  establishment  that  sixty 
per  cent  of  the  users  of  books  were  the  workers  in  the  administration 
building  where  the  library  was  kept.  As  a  result,  the  library  was 
divided  up  into  sections  which  were  exchanged  between  the  differ- 
ent departments  and  buildings.  The  workers  eagerly  took  advan- 
tage of  this  opportunity  and  the  use  of  the  library  increased. 

The  Brown  &  Sharpe  Manufacturing  Company  of  Providence, 
R.  I.,  maintain  a  library  for  their  workers  who  are  skilled  machinists 
and  mechanics.  The  library  is  in  charge  of  the  time  keeping  depart- 
ment, which  all  workers  must  pass  at  least  once  a  day. 

Branch  stations  of  the  public  library  are  located  in  some  fac- 
tories, notably  at  the  Deering  Works  in  Chicago,  the  Sherwin-Wil- 
liams Company  of  Cleveland  and  the  Shredded  Wheat  Company 
of  Niagara  Falls.  Other  factories  have  had  libraries  at  some  time 
or  other  which  became  unnecessary  when  public  libraries  or  Car- 
negie libraries  were  started. 

Apprenticeship  Schools.  The  matter  of  securing  trained  workers 
for  skilled  trades  is  a  serious  problem  and  one  that  has  been  discussed 
and  investigated  in  all  countries.  In  Germany,  a  system  of  contin- 
uation schools  towards  which  the  employer  partly  contributes, 
has  largely  taken  the  place  of  schools  established  by  individual 
employers.  At  the  same  time,  many  large  firms  continue  to  have 
their  own  apprentice  schools  for  purposes  of  technical  education. 

In  America,  where  scarcely  any  provision  is  made  for  indus- 
trial education  by  the  public  school  system,  many  corporations 
have  established  apprenticeship  schools.  The  Westinghouse  Elec- 
tric Company  support  a  night  technical  school  with  a  four  year  course, 
which  is  followed  by  a  two-year  apprentice  course  of  four  hours 
per  week  with  pay.  The  General  Electric  Company  has  four  hun- 
dred trade  and  electrical  apprentices  who  receive  four  years  of 
training.  The  Western  Electric  Company's  apprentices  are  required 
to  attend  school  for  one  hour  a  day;  the  remainder  of  the  time 
they  spend  in  the  factory.  The  Brown  &  Sharpe  Company's 
apprentices  must  take  a  four-year  course  and  attend  a  special  school 
for  two  hours  every  day.  They  are  paid  for  their  shop  work,  eight, 
ten,  twelve,  and  fourteen  cents  an  hour,  according  to  the  year  of 
their  apprenticeship.  The  United  Shoe  Machinery  Company  have 
equipped  a  separate  department  as  an  industrial  school.  Their 
apprentices  spend  one  week  at  school  and  one  week  in  the  shop. 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  Yv^ORK 


341 


The  school,  however,  is  a  public  school  and  the  company  has  no 
authority  over  it,  though  it  cooperates  with  it  and  furnishes  the 
material  for  the  boys  working  in  the  shop.  The  Ludlow  Textile 
School  trains  apprentices  in  branches  of  the  textile  trade.  The 
boys  work  five  hours  a  day  and  are  transferred  to  different  machines 
or  operations  every  month.  They  spend  three  hours  a  day  in  school 
and  the  course  covers  four  years. 

General  Educational  Activities.     In  skilled  trades,  the  educational 
opportunities  provided  by  employers  take  the  form  of  technical 


Courtesy  United  Shoe  Machinery  Co.,  Beverly.  Mass. 

Industrial  School. 


courses  or  apprenticeship  schools.  In  unskilled  trades  or  in  trades 
where  numbers  of  women  are  employed,  educational  activities  are 
more  general  in  type  and  are  planned  to  afford  relaxation  and  mental 
stimulus  rather  than  any  special  skill  or  technical  ability. 

The  Cadbury  Cocoa  Company  of  Bournville  has  evening  classes 
for  its  women  workers  in  cooking,  sewing,  millinery  and  music. 
J.  Crosfield  &  Sons  insist  on  all  boy  and  girl  workers  between  four- 
teen and  seventeen  years  old  attending  their  evening  school  for 
three  nights  a  week  during  the  winter.  Prizes  are  given  for  attend- 


342  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

ance  and  proficiency  in  the  subjects  taught.  The  H.  J.  Heinz 
Company  of  Pittsburgh  conducts  drawing,  sewing  and  cooking 
classes  for  its  women  employes. 

The  Friedrich  Bayer  Company  with  factories  at  Elberfeld  and 
Leverkussen,  Germany,  have  arts  and  crafts  classes,  garden  schools, 
and  domestic  science  classes  of  all  kinds,  chiefly  for  the  children 
of  their  employes.  The  Solvay  Process  Company  has  several  classes 
in  dressmaking  for  the  mothers  and  daughters  of  its  workers.  Cook- 
ing lessons,  lessons  in  embroidering,  dancing,  housekeeping  and 
sewing  are  all  provided  at  very  low  prices.  The  National  Cash 
Register  Company  in  its  employes'  clubhouse  at  Rubicon  con- 
ducts classes  of  all  sorts.  Especially  successful  are  dancing  and 
sewing  classes  for  women  workers. 

HOUSING.  The  amount  of  money  spent  by  a  worker  on  rent  is 
a  much  larger  item  in  his  budget  than  in  the  budget  of  a  middle 
class  or  well-to-do  family.  The  housing  problem  is  one  that  affects 
the  worker  and  his  family  very  nearly,  and  the  difficulty  of  obtain- 
ing cheap  and  suitable  habitations  is  very  great.  Many  employ- 
ers have  tried  to  meet  this  difficulty  by  providing  homes  for  their 
workers  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  factory,  or  by  building  model 
villages  or  forming  building  and  loan  associations.  This  policy 
helps  to  attract  workers  to  the  neighborhood  and  also  means  a  stead- 
ier working  force,  as  a  man  who  has  a  comfortable  home  at  com- 
paratively low  rent  is  likely  to  think  twice  before  he  goes  elsewhere. 
It  is  therefore  advantageous  for  the  employer  to  investigate  the 
housing  of  his  workers,  especially  when  the  factory  is  in  the  country 
or  on  the  outskirts  of  a  town. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  provision  by  factory  owners  of  houses 
for  their  workers  has  often  led  to  strained  relations  between  the 
employer  and  his  employes.  In  times  of  strikes,  company-owned 
houses  have  become  a  weapon  in  the  hands  of  the  employer.  Some 
employers  are  opposed  to  providing  houses  for  their  workers  or  for 
making  any  arrangements  for  their  life  outside  of  the  factory.  In- 
stead, they  prefer  to  establish  building  or  loan  associations  and 
make  it  easy  for  their  workers  to  acquire  property  and  build  their 
own  houses  if  they  desire  to  do  so.  This  is  the  policy  followed  by 
the  Karl  Zeiss  Works  at  Jena,  the  Joseph  Fels  Company  near  Phil- 
adelphia, and  many  other  large  corporations. 

There  are  many  model  villages  in  existence  which  have  been 
built  entirely  by  employers  for  their  workers,  the  houses  planned, 
the  grounds  laid  out,  the  roads  made,  trees  and  shrubbery  planted, 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK 


343 


markets  and  stores  established,  and  regulations  for  the  government 
of  the  town  laid  down.  Where  the  employes  are  consulted  and 
allowed  a  voice  in  these  undertakings,  where  they  are  permitted  to 
purchase  their  own  homes  and  to  acquire  an  interest  in  the  affairs  of 
the  town,  these  experiments  have  often  been  successful.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  have  been  some  disastrous  failures,  notably  that 
of  Pullman. 

Another  method  followed  is  that  which  has  been  developed  at 
Bournville  where  an  estate  of  609  acres  was  transferred  to  a  trust. 


**•** 


Courtesy  Joseph  Bancroft  &  Sons  Co.,  Wilmington,  Del. 

Ivy  Road:     Houses  for  Employes. 

In  the  terms  of  the  foundation  certain  stipulations  were  made. 
Each  house  was  to  have  a  garden  and  was  to  occupy  no  more  than 
one-quarter  of  the  area  of  land  on  which  it  was  built.  One-tenth 
of  the  land,  exclusive  of  roads  and  gardens,  was  to  be  reserved  for 
parks  and  recreation  grounds.  Many  different  types  of  houses 
have  been  built,  and  in  1911  there  were  731  houses  in  the  village. 
The  houses  are  both  small  and  large  and  many  different  plans  have 
been  used  to  suit  the  different  tastes  and  requirements  of  the  work- 
ers. Bungalows  for  single  women  were  built.  Many  houses  have 
bath-rooms  and  all  of  them  have  baths.  Fruit  trees  and  small 


344  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

fruit  bushes  were  planted  in  all  the  gardens.  The  roads  are  wide 
and  bordered  with  trees.  Playgrounds  have  betn  reserved  here 
and  there  through  the  village. 

The  only  restriction  made  by  the  foundation  is  tnat  alcoholic 
liquors  cannot  be  sold  except  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the 
trustees.  This  foundation  now  is  the  property  of  the  nation  and  is 
not  in  any  way  connected  with  the  Cadbury  Works.  The  fact  that 
only  forty-one  per  cent  of  the  householders  belong  to  the  works 
shows  the  village  has  been  as  great  a  benefit  to  the  workers  of  Birm- 
ingham as  to  the  workers  in  the  Cadbury  factory. 

Other  model  villages  in  England  which  are  used  largely  by  the 
working  force  are  Easwick,  a  town  built  by  Rowntree  Bros.,  on  the 
outskirts  of  York;  Port  Sunlight,  a  charming  village  belonging 
to  Lever  Bros.;  and  Aintree  near  Liverpool,  which  is  the  property 
of  Hartley  Bros. 

In  Germany,  there  are  several  large  scale  housing  schemes 
developed  by  employers  for  their  employes,  the  most  notable  prob- 
ably being  those  o*f  Messrs.  Krupp  and  Friedrich  Bayer  at  Lever- 
kussen  and  Elberfeld.  No  less  than  twelve  colonies  have  been 
developed  in  connection  with  the  Krupp  Works.  Their  first  experi- 
ments in  housing  were  hideous  barracks  of  corrugated  iron.  The 
later  ones,  such  as  Alfredshof  and  Friedrichshof,  are  model  villages 
as  far  as  the  architecture,  planning  and  finishing  of  houses  and 
grounds  are  concerned.  The  Bayer  colonies  are  also  attractive 
and  comfortable. 

There  are  a  number  of  corporation  villages  in  France.  At  Le 
Creusot  Steel  Mills  there  are  approximately  twelve  hundred  houses 
with  gardens  provided  by  the  company,  and  the  erection  or  pur- 
chase of  houses  is  facilitated  by  building  loans.  The  Menier 
Chocolate  Factory  at  Noisiel-sur-Seine  has  built  an  attractive 
village  with  312  semi-detached  cottages,  free  schools,  a  restaurant 
and  boarding  house  for  single  men  and  a  public  laundry  and  bath- 
houses. They  also  provide  almshouses  for  old  employes. 

In  America,  company-owned  houses  have  often  resulted  dis- 
astrously for  both  workers  and  employers  during  labor  conflicts. 
Especially  has  this  been  true  of  the  company  owned  houses  in  lonely 
districts  in  the  neighborhood  of  mines.  The  wholesale  evictions 
that  take  place  in  times  of  strikes  have  made  the  workers  fight  shy  of 
such  schemes.  At  the  same  time  there  are  several  housing  schemes 
that  have  been  very  successful,  notably  Leclair,  a  town  started  for 
the  employes  of  the  Nelson  Paint  Works  near  St.  Louis,  At 


EMPLOYERS'  WELFARE  WORK 


345 


Leclair,  the  land  is  sold  to  the  workers  outright  with  the  right  of 
preemption  to  the  company  if  the  owner  leaves.  The  workers 
erect  their  own  houses  and  pay  for  them  gradually,  and  in  case  of 
leaving  the  employ  of  the  firm,  all  money  and  interest  is  repaid  after 
an  agreed  sum  is  deducted  for  rent.  The  utmost  freedom  is  allowed 
to  the  workers  in  their  planning  and  building,  and  the  town  is  gov- 
erned just  as  any  other  American  town  would  be  with  the  single 
exception  that  no  saloons  are  permitted. 

Vandergrift  is  a  town  for  employes  of  the  American  Sheet  Steel 


Courtesy  Joseph  Bancroft  &  Sons  Co.,  Wilmington,  Del. 

Boarding  House  for  Employes. 

Company  in  Pennsylvania.  Eighty  per  cent  of  the  workers  own 
their  own  homes  and  much  is  left  to  their  individual  enterprise. 
Other  model  villages  are  at  South  Manchester  in  connection  with 
the  Cheney  Silk  Mills,  and  at  Ludlow,  Mass.,  and  at  Hopedale. 
In  most  of  these  American  workers'  colonies,  the  employer  has  sim- 
ply made  it  possible  for  the  workers  to  escape  the  operations  of  land 
speculators  by  buying  the  land  and  making  building  loans  and 
arrangements  for  the  erection  of  homes;  in  this  way  keeping  rents 
and  cost  of  homes  down  to  a  minimum.  The  only  general  regula- 
tion seems  to  be  that  prohibiting  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors. 


346  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  policy  of  the  Prussian  State  Mines  towards  the  housing  of 
their  workers  is  to  encourage  the  workers  to  build  and  own  their 
own  homes;  but  not  to  build  houses  for  them.  The  government 
makes  a  present  of  from  $185  to  $225  to  any  workman  proposing 
to  build  his  own  house  and  in  addition  lends  him  without  interest 
enough  to  make  up  the  cost. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES 

I 
CONFINED  AIR 

FOR  a  great  many  years  physicians,  sanitarians,  and  educators 
have  sought  to  impress  upon  the  public  the  importance  of  fresh 
air.  For  years  they  have  tried  to  instil  a  wholesome  fear  of  bad 
and  impure  air  to  which  they  ascribed  all  the  ills  that  mankind  is 
heir  to.  There  was  hardly  a  disease  which  they  did  not  attribute 
to  impure  air  or  an  epidemic  that  was  not  ascribed  to  the  same 
cause. 

The  inevitable  reaction  was  bound  to  come.  Sanitarians  began 
to  ask  questions.  Doubt  assailed  experimenters,  and  scientists 
made  profound  studies.  As  is  the  case  in  all  reactions,  the  pendu- 
lum seems  to  have  swung  too  far  in  the  other  direction.  Exaggerated 
statements  of  the  effect  of  bad  air  have  given  rise  to  unwarranted 
sanitary  nihilism,  and  former  conceptions  of  the  role  of  impure 
air  are  regarded  as  vagaries  of  sanitary  science.  However,  scientific 
studies  and  investigations  of  the  problem  of  air  and  ventilation 
have  led  to  a  readjustment  of  opinion,  and  at  present  the  problem 
is  not  far  from  being  solved. 

The  questions  which  must  be  considered  are  the  following: 
Is  there  a  difference  between  the  air  outside  of  inhabited  rooms 
and  workshops  and  the  air  within  these  rooms?  What  does  this 
difference  consist  of?  What  is  it  due  to?  What  effect  have  such 
differences  upon  the  human  body?  How  is  a  change  of  the  air 
between  the  outside  and  inside  to  be  brought  about?  What  are 
the  means  and  rate  of  such  a  change? 

Confined  Air.  The  atmosphere  of  the  outside  air  is  a  mixture 
of  gases,  the  principal  constituents  being  nitrogen  and  oxygen. 
The  composition  of  air  is — nitrogen  79.02,  oxygen  20.96,  carbonic 
acid  0.03,  and  traces  of  other  gages,  such  as  argon,  neon,  zenon, 

347 


348  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

etc.,  the  character  and  functions  of  which  have  not  as  yet  been 
determined.  This  composition  of  air  is  about  the  same  in  the  whole 
atmosphere  surrounding  the  earth,  the  change  in  the  air  of  differ- 
ent localities  being  slight  and  mainly  consisting  in  variations  in  the 
percentage  of  oxygen  and  carbonic  acid. 

In  building  a  house,  a  factory,  or  workshop,  we  inclose  a  space 
in  which  air  is  confined,  and  in  which  at  the  beginning  the  air  is  the 
same  as  the  outside  atmosphere.  Soon,  however,  due  to  the  va- 
rious processes  within  the  room,  the  air  begins  to  change  in  its  com- 
position and  becomes  different  from  the  air  outside. 

The  processes  which  are  going  on  within  the  closed  room  are 
each  accompanied  by  changes  influencing  the  condition  and  com- 
position of  the  air  within.  These  processes  are  due  to  the  presence 
of  human  beings,  to  mechanical  appliances  and  devices,  machinery, 
friction,  etc.,  and  to  the  chemical  processes  of  combustion,  illumina- 
tion, and  industrial  activity,  all  of  which  produce  certain  chemical 
and  physical  changes  in  the  air. 

The  changes  which  are  produced  by  the  presence  of  human 
beings  are  the  following:  (1)  a  diminution  in  the  percentage  of 
oxygen,  (2)  an  increase  in  the  percentage  of  carbon  dioxide,  (3) 
an  increase  of  volatile  odoriferous  organic  products,  (4)  a  possible 
increase  in  the  number  of  bacteria  and  micro-organisms  in  the 
air,  (5)  an  increase  in  the  temperature,  and  (6)  an  increase  in  the 
relative  humidity  of  the  air  in  the  room. 

Combustion  and  illumination  within  the  room  or  shop  produce 
changes  in  the  air  according  to  the  character  and  source  of  the 
combustion,  the  most  important  changes  being  the  increase  in 
temperature  and  humidity  and  the  addition  of  certain  gases,  such 
as  C02,  CO,  and  others  due  to  the  processes  of  combustion  and 
illumination.  The  physical  and  chemical  processes  going  on  within 
the  shop  add  a  large  amount  of  dust  from  the  processes  and  materials 
used,  and  sometimes  gases  and  fumes,  due  to  certain  chemical  proc- 
esses, are  produced. 

All  these  additions  to  and  changes  in  the  normal  consistency 
of  the  air  are  usually  regarded  as  air  impurities  and  have  a  greater 
or  lesser  effect  upon  the  human  beings  within  the  confined  air  spaces. 

Diminution  of  Oxygen.  There  is  considerable  diminution  in 
the  quantity  of  oxygen  in  confined  spaces  where  persons  are  at 
work  and  where  illumination  and  combustion  are  going  on.  The 
aic  which  is  inspired  by  persons  contains  nearly  21  per  cent  of 
oxygen;  the  air  which  is  expired  by  persons  contains  only  about 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES 


350  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

16  per  cent  of  oxygen,  a  loss  of  5  per  cent  of  oxygen  in  every  300 
cubic  feet  or  more  of  air  which  is  used  by  every  person  at  every 
breath.  The  percentage  of  oxygen  is  also  diminished  by  processes 
of  illumination  and  combustion.  All  illuminants  except  electricity, 
and  all  direct  combustion,  consume  a  large  percentage  of  oxygen 
in  the  air,  varying  with  the  character,  kind,  and  intensity  of  the 
illumination  and  combustion.  An  ordinary  gas-jet  which  consumes 
from  5  to  10  cubic  feet  of  gas  per  hour  consumes  about  5  to  10 
feet  of  oxygen.  It  is,  therefore,  evident  that  the  number  of  gas- 
burners  in  a  shop  will  cause  a  considerable  diminution  in  the  oxygen 
available. 

Increase  of  CC>2.  The  air  of  inhabitable  rooms  also  differs 
from  normal  air  by  considerable  increase  in  the  proportion  of  car- 
bonic acid  (CO2)  contained,  such  increase  also  being  due  to  the 
presence  of  human  beings,  to  illumination,  combustion,  etc. 


Nitrogen. 

Oxygen. 

C02. 

Normal  air  

79.02 

20.96 

0.03 

Expired  air 

79  02 

16  03 

4  4 

There  is  therefore  a  large  diminution  in  the  percentage  of  oxygen 
and  also  a  more  than  100-fold  increase  of  carbonic  acid  (CCfe).  It 
has  been  calculated  that  every  adult  person  adds  to  the  air  of  the 
room  hourly  at  least  one  cubic  foot  of  carbonic  acid  (CO2),  depend- 
ing upon  the  character  of  the  work  performed.  A  large  amount 
of  carbonic  acid  (CO2)  is  also  produced  by  processes  of  illumina- 
tion, an  ordinary  gas-jet  on  the  average  producing  about  2J  to  5 
feet  of  carbonic  acid  per  hour;  thus  adding  considerably  to  the 
carbonic  acid  (CO2)  contents  of  rooms  in  which  illuminants  are 
necessary. 

As  to  the  influence  of  the  diminution  of  oxygen  and  increase 
of  the  carbonic  acid  (CCfe),  the  consensus  of  opinion  is  that  under 
ordinary  conditions  this  diminution  has  no  special  influence  upon 
the  health  of  the  body  and  has  no  injurious  effects.  "  The  oxygen 
in  the  air  must  be  reduced  from  21  per  cent  to  15  per  cent  before 
any  marked  physical  effect  is  manifest."*  Indeed,  it  has  been 
found  that  human  beings  become  accustomed  to  air  in  which  the 
proportion  of  oxygen  is  considerably  decreased.  A  decrease  down 
to  17  per  cent  is  considered  not  at  all  injurious,  and  it  is  probable 
that  an  ordinary  decrease  of  oxygen  in  inhabited  rooms  has  no 

*  C.-E.  A.  Winslow:  Scientific  Basis  for  Ventilation  Standards. 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  351 

special  bearing  upon  the  problem  of  ventilation.  This  opinion 
as  to  the  effect  of  diminution  of  oxygen  and  increase  of  carbonic 
acid  (€62)  has  been  well  expressed  by  Haldane  and  Osborn  in  the 
report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Ventilation  of  Fac- 
tories and  Workshops  (Great  Britain),  as  follows: 

"  Mere  increase  of  carbonic  acid  and  diminution  of  oxygen  to 
the  extent  which  actually  occurs  in  the  air  of  buildings  has  no  direct 
influence  upon  the  comfort  or  health  of  the  persons  present.  The 
proportion  of  carbonic  acid,  even  where  ventilation  is  very  bad, 
seldom  rises  beyond  50  volumes  per  10,000;  and  it  requires  about 
six  times  as  much  to  produce  an  immediate  perceptible  effect 
(increased  depth  and  frequency  of  breathing).  A  similar  remark 
applies  to  the  oxygen  percentage.  Neither  a  diminution  nor  an 
increase  of  2  or  3  per  cent  in  the  oxygen  seems  to  produce  any 
appreciable  effect  on  a  man.  The  living  organism  regulates  its  own 
consumption  of  oxygen,  and  in  this  respect  differs  entirely  from 
a  burning  candle  or  fire,  in  the  case  of  which  the  rate  of  consump- 
tion of  oxygen  rises  and  falls  with  the  oxygen  percentage  in  the 
air.  A  large  fall  in  the  oxygen  percentage,  or  a  corresponding 
diminution  in  the  barometric  pressure,  produces  the  train  of  symptoms 
known  to  mountaineers  as  *  mountain  sickness ' ;  but  the  diminution 
requires  to  be  a  very  considerable  one.  Some  of  the  best-known 
health  resorts  are  at  altitudes  where  the  diminution  of  pressure 
corresponds  physiologically  to  a  diminution  by  fully  a  fifth  in  the 
oxygen  percentage.  Further  evidence  showing  that  a  moderate 
increase  in  carbonic  acid  and  diminution  of  oxygen  in  the  air  is  not 
in  itself  prejudicial  to  health  is  afforded  by  the  fact  that,  apart 
from  accidents,  the  life  of  a  coal-miner  is  exceptionally  healthy, 
although  he  breathes,  when  at  work,  air  which  contains  a  notable 
excess  of  carbonic  acid  and  deficiency  of  oxygen  owing  to  chemical 
changes  in  the  coal.  The  importance  of  the  carbonic  acid  in  the 
air  of  a  building  arises  solely  from  the  fact  that  it  is  an  index  of 
conditions  which  are  usually  prejudicial  to  both  health  and  comfort/'* 

The  older  hygienists  considered  carbonic  acid  a  virulent  poison, 
extremely  dangerous  to  health,  and  ascribed  all  the  ill  effects  of 
confined  air  to  the  presence  of  carbonic  acid  in  ill-ventilated  rooms. 
Later  studies,  however,  showed  that  the  role  of  carbonic  acid 
was  greatly  overrated  and  that  a  very  large  increase  in  the  contents 
of  carbonic  acid  in  the  air  of  the  room  is  needed  before  any  per- 
ceptible effects  are  produced  upon  the  human  beings  present. 
The  increase  which  is  considered  as  possibly  dangerous  varies  from 
4  to  10  per  cent,  and  it  is  claimed  by  some  that  air  even  with  25 

*  Second  Report  of  the  Departmental   Committee  on   Ventilation  of  Factories,   Haldane 
and  Osborn. 


352 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES 


353 


or  30  per  cent  of  carbonic  acid  may  be  inhaled  with  impunity. 
Such  a  proportion  of  carbonic  acid,  however,  is  scarcely  ever  found 
in  a  closed  room.  Experiments  have  also  shown  that  guinea  pigs 
may  live  for  half  an  hour  in  air  consisting  of  80  per  cent  of  CO2 
and  20  per  cent  of  oxygen.  Only  an  increase  of  carbonic  acid 
not  often  found  in  rooms  produces  frequent  and  labored  breathing, 
discomfort  and  distress.  According  to  Gartner,  one  may  work 
for  hours  in  an  atmosphere  containing  1  per  cent  CO2. 

In  all  investigations  of  air  in  rooms  and  workshops,  the  propor- 
tion of  C02  in  the  air  has  hardly  ever  exceeded  50  volumes  per  10,000, 
and  the  usual  percentage  of  carbonic  acid,  even  in  foul  and  ill-ven- 
tilated rooms  with  a  number  of  burning  gas-fixtures,  ranges  from 
20  to  30  volumes  per  10,000.  The  highest  CO2  contents  found 
by  the  Departmental  Committee  were  only  from  0.32  per  cent  to 
0.53  per  cent  in  tailoring  shops,  0.47  per  cent  in  textile  establish- 
ments, and  0.56  per  cent  to  0.57  per  cent  in  cotton-spinning  mills. 

The  following  table  taken  from  the  reports  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Labor  for  1908,  1909  and  1910,  shows  the  temperature  an:l 
humidity  in  New  York  factories.* 


Number  of  Workrooms  with  Temperature 

Number  with 

f      1        , 

72  Deg. 

72  Deg.- 

80  Deg. 

ity  over  70%. 

or  Less. 

79  Deg. 

or  Over. 

Printing  shops    

2 

25 

29 

3 

Clothing  shops  

9 

23 

7 

6 

Bakeries  

1 

20 

15 

7 

Pearl  button  factories  . 

33 

9 

0 

14 

Cigar-making  shops  .  . 

8 

4 

5 

7 

Laundries  

0 

7 

7 

1 

Miscellaneous  

6 

5 

0 

1 

Total  

59 

93 

63 

39 

The  importance  of  the  presence  of  carbonic  acid  in  the  air  is  not 
because  of  its  poisonous  character  in  the  proportion  in  which  it  is 
usually  found  in  the  air,  but  because,  as  a  rule,  it  is  found  in  propor- 
tion to  the  general  contamination  of  the  air  of  a  room  by  human 
beings,  and  has  been  regarded  therefore  as  a  valuable  index  of  the 
general  impurities  of  the  air  in  confined  spaces.  This  importance 

*  "  Factory  Sanitation  and  Efficiency,"  by  C.-E.  A.  Winslow,  Smithsonian  Report  for 
1911,  page  615. 


354  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

of  carbonic  acid  (C02)  as  an  indicator  of  the  condition  of  the  air 
and  of  air-change  in  inhabited  rooms  was  emphasized  by  Petten- 
koffer  and  his  pupils,  who  were  the  first  to  indicate  the  importance 
of  carbonic  acid  as  such  an  index,  and  devised  appliances  for  tests 
of  the  air  for  carbonic-acid  contents. 

The  carbonic -acid  contents  of  the  air  have  also  been  made  a 
basis  for  legal  standards  for  ventilation  in  various  countries  and 
states. 

Organic  Matter.  The  presence  of  living  beings  in  an  inhabited 
room  results  in  adding  to  the  air  of  the  room  certain  volatile  odorifer- 
ous organic  products,  some  due  to  emanations  from  the  skin,  from 
the  clothes  and  bodies  of  persons,  others  due  to  the  expired  air  from 
the  lungs,  to  saliva  and  other  products  of  coughing,  sneezing,  decayed 
teeth,  etc.  These  products  are  often  perceptible  in  crowded  rooms, 
and  result  in  the  feeling  of  nausea  and  discomfort  which  one  feels 
on  entering  such  places.  Scientists  have  sought  to  prove  the 
existence  of  a  specific  "  crowd  poison"  (anthropotoxin) ,  which 
was  claimed  to  exist  in  the  air  of  inhabited  rooms.  Numerous 
experiments  have  been  made  to  determine  the  presence  and  toxicity 
of  this  organic  product,  but  later  investigations  have  proved  that  the 
claim  of  the  presence  of  such  a  "  subtle  and  mysterious,  poisonous, 
morbific  matter  or  crowd  poison  is  intangible."  * 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  specific  odors  emanating  from  persons 
in  rooms  are  unpleasant  and  may  cause  discomfort,  but  it  has  yet 
to  be  proved  that  these  odors  are  injurious. 

Infectious  Bacteria.  The  air  very  often  contains  a  number  of 
micro-organisms,  among  which  may  be  found  some  which  are 
regarded  as  pathogenic,  such  as  tubercle  bacilli,  and  others.  Tljese 
pathogenic  micro-organisms  come  from  diseased  persons  through 
droplets,  saliva  and  excretions  from  coughing,  sneezing,  etc.  An 
infection  from  the  presence  of  such  bacteria  may  be  possible,  although 
the  role  of  air  in  the  transmission  of  infectious  diseases  is  now 
regarded  as  negligible,  except  perhaps  as  far  as  tuberculosis  is  con- 
cerned. There  is  a  tendency  among  scientists  to  disregard  the 
danger  of  aerial  infection,  although  it  has  been  repeatedly  shown 
that  ill-ventilated  rooms  are  apt  to  contain  a  larger  number  of 
bacteria  per  cubic  foot  of  air  than  the  air  of  well-ventilated  rooms. 

Dust,  Gases  and  Fumes.  Besides  the  impurities  already  con- 
sidered which  are  found  in  the  air  of  inhabited  rooms  and  shops, 
there  are  also  a  large  number  of  additional  impurities  found  in 

*  Professor  C.-E.  A.  Winslow:  New  Art  of  Ventilation,  p.  1. 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  355 

manufacturing  establishments.  These  impurities  consist  of  dust, 
gases  and  fumes  which  are  products  of  illumination,  combustion,  and 
mechanical  and  chemical  processes  within  the  establishment.  The 
quantity  and  character  of  these  impurities,  as  well  as  their  influences 
upon  health,  deserve  special  consideration,  and  will  be  treated  in 
other  chapters. 

Temperature  and  Humidity.  The  most  important  physical 
changes  in  confined  air  of  rooms  and  shops  are  the  increase  of  the 
temperature  and  humidity  of  the  air.  These  physical  changes  are 
at  present  considered  of  greater  importance  than  the  chemical 
changes  alluded  to  before,  and  in  the  light  of  modern  science  the 
problem  of  ventilation,  as  Professor  Lee  well  expresses  it,  "  is  not 
chemical  but  physical,  not  pulmonary  but  cutaneous." 

The  temperature  and  humidity  of  the  outside  air  varies  greatly, 
according  to  climate,  season,  altitude,  etc.,  and  human  beings  have 
the  power  within  certain  limits  to  adjust  themselves  to  extremes 
in  these  environmental  conditions  if  they  are  properly  clothed,  fed 
and  exercised.  A  person  may  stand  with  impunity  low  temperature 
and  low  relative  humidity  of  air,  as  has  been  proved  by  those  who 
take  arctic  trips  or  live  in  the  extreme  north.  The  effects  of  a  sojourn 
in  extremely  hot  climates  and  the  higher  rate  of  humidity  are  more 
serious.  Not  every  person  can  stand  the  effects  of  living  in  tropical 
climates,  and  all  of  us  feel  distress  on  humid,  hot  summer  days,  show- 
ing the  serious  effect  of  hot  and  moist  air. 

Air  always  contains  a  certain  amount  of  moisture.  The  amount 
of  moisture  which  a  given  volume  of  air  contains  at  a  given  time 
depends  upon  the  temperature  of  the  air;  the  higher  the  temperature, 
the  more  moisture  the  air  will  absorb.  Thus,  at  a  temperature  of 
59°  F.,  one  cubic  foot  of  air  will  absorb  six  grains  of  water.  At 
a  temperature  of  86°  F.,  the  same  volume  of  air  will  be  able  to  absorb 
twelve  grains  or  twice  as  much  water.  For  every  increase  in  the 
temperature  of  air  there  is  an  increase  in  its  ability  to  absorb 
moisture.  At  32°  F.,  air  can  hold  1/60  of  its  weight  of  water-vapor; 
at  59°  F.,  1/80;  at  86°,  F.  1/40.  Roughly,  every  27°  of  F.  of  increase 
in  temperature  doubles  the  amount  of  water-vapor  air  can  hold 
in  proportion  to  its  weight. 

When  air  at  a  given  temperature  contains  all  the  moisture  it  is 
capable  of  absorbing  it  is  said  to  be  saturated,  and  any  excess  of 
moisture  is  condensed  and  deposited  upon  surfaces,  the  air  having 
reached  what  is  called  the  "  dew  "  point.  Absolute  humidity  is  the 
amount  of  water  in  a  given  volume  of  air.  The  air  at  a  given  tern- 


356  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

perature  does  not  always  contain  all  the  moisture  it  may  absorb.  As 
a  rule,  it  contains  only  part  of  the  moisture.  The  relation  of  the 
amount  of  water  contained  in  a  given  volume  of  air  at  a  certain  tem- 
perature to  absolute  saturation  is  called  "  relative  humidity."  Thus, 
a  relative  humidity  of  60  per  cent  means  that  at  a  given  temperature 
the  air  holds  but  60  per  cent  of  the  moisture  which  it  is  capable  of 
absorbing  at  the  same  temperature.  Temperature  is  measured  by 
thermometers,  in  this  country  the  Fahrenheit  thermometer  being 
used.  It  is  graduated  to  212°,  of  which  32°  is  the  freezing-point, 
and  212°  the  boiling-point  of  water  (at  a  certain  barometric  pres- 
sure). 

The  presence  of  persons  in  rooms  affects  the  air  of  the  room 
not  only  chemically  but  physically.  The  body  absorbs  oxygen, 
exhales  carbonic  acid  (CC^),  and  other  products,  and  is  also  a  living 
warm  radiator  at  98  2°  F.,  giving  off  heat  from  the  skin  of  the  whole 
body  and  moisture  from  the  lungs  and  from  the  skin.  Heat  is  given 
off  by  direct  contact  with  objects,  by  transmission,  by  radiation 
to  surrounding  objects  and  by  evaporation.  Moisture  is  given  off 
by  exhalation  from  the  lungs  and  by  evaporation  from  the  skin. 

The  amount  of  heat  and  moisture  given  off  by  a  body  differs 
very  much,  according  to  many  factors,  both  external  and  internal, 
such  as  the  temperature,  climate,  and  humidity  of  the  air  out- 
side, and  the  food,  drink,  amount  of  work  and  exercise,  and  metab- 
olism of  the  body.  The  temperature  and  humidity  of  confined 
air  are  also  increased  by  the  friction  of  the  machinery  and  other 
physical  processes,  and  also  by  various  chemical  processes,  espe- 
cially combustion  and  illumination. 

A  large  number  of  industrial  establishments  have  an  extra- 
ordinarily high  temperature  combined  with  a  high  relative  humidity. 
Such  is  the  case  in  textile  mills,  in  dyeing  establishments,  in  laun- 
dries, in  bakeries,  in  refining  of  sugar  and  other  products,  in  can- 
ning factories,  in  all  places  where  food  or  other  objects  are  boiled, 
steamed,  etc.,  in  meat-rendering  and  packing  establishments,  and 
in  a  very  large  number  of  factories  too  numerous  to  mention. 

The  temperature  and  high  degree  of  moisture  in  the  air  of  some 
establishments  is  especially  excessive.  Thus,  I  remember  visit- 
ing a  large  sugar  refinery  and  coming  to  a  part  of  the  establish- 
ment where  filter  bags  were  washed,  where  the  heat  reached  a  tem- 
perature of  110°,  and  the  steam  in  the  room  was  so  dense  that  it 
was  impossible  to  see  a  few  feet  away.  A  photograph  made  of 
this  room  is  shown  in  the  illustration  on  page  352.  The  persons 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES 


357 


358  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

working  in  this  room  were  entirely  naked,  and  their  distress  was 
apparent.  I  was  told  that  a  great  many  of  these  workers  are  sub- 
ject to  colds  and  must  frequently  stop  work,  and  the  superintendent 
testified  before  the  Factory  Commission  that  a  number  of  workers 
were  carried  out  frequently  in  the  summer  in  a  fainting  condi- 
tion. The  other  illustration  on  page  363  is  of  the  sausage  depart- 
ment in  a  meat-packing  establishment,  where  the  temperature 
and  humidity  were  also  found  to  be  exceedingly  high. 

The  effects  of  working  in  air  of  high  temperature  and  high 
humidity  have  been  carefully  studied  by  many  investigators. 
Rubner,  Wolpert,  Fliigge  and  his  pupils,  in  Germany,  were  the 
first  to  call  attention  to  the  effects  of  working  under  such  physical 
conditions,  and  ascribed  most  of  the  effects  of  bad  air  to  the  temper- 
ature and  humidity  of  ill-ventilated  rooms. 

The  physiological  effect  of  high  temperature  and  humidity, 
and  their  pathological  influence,  have  been  reported  upon  by  Hal- 
dane,  and  lately  commented  upon  by  Professors  Lee  and  Winslow. 

The  British  Committee  on  Ventilation  summarized  its  findings 
as  follows  in  its  second  report: 

"  The  conclusion  is  drawn  that  prolonged  exposure  to  a  hot, 
moist  atmosphere  would  appear  to  be  more  injurious  than  exposure 
to  an  even  higher  wet  bulb  temperature  for  a  short  time,  and  that 
the  views  expressed  entirely  support  the  contention  that  humidifica- 
tion  in  any  shape  or  form  combined  with  a  hot  atmosphere  causes 
bodily  discomfort  and  injury  to  health."* 

Haldane  found  that  with  the  air  temperature  at  131°  and  the 
wet  bulb  at  88°  the  body  temperature  remained  the  same  after  two 
and  one-quarter  hours.  With  air  temperature  at  89°  and  wet  bulb 
temperature  also  at  89°  the  body  temperature  rose  nearly  3°  in  the 
same  time,  and  with  the  air  temperature  at  94°  and  wet  bulb  tem- 
perature at  94°  the  body  temperature  rose  4°  in  two  hours.  With 
moderate  hard  work  and  a  wet  bulb  temperature  of  87°  the  body 
temperature  rose  4°  in  one  hour.  He  also  found  that  at  a  tem- 
perature over  a  certain  point,  any  considerable  amount  of  mois- 
ture in  the  air  which  diminishes  the  radiation,  tends  to  cause  an 
accumulation  of  heat  in  the  body.f 

The  report  of  Pembrey  and  Collis  on  the  physiological  con- 
dition of  weavers  working  in  humid  atmospheres  gives  a  detailed 

*  Second  Report  of  Departmental  Committee  on   Humidity  and  Ventilation  in  Cotton- 
Weaving  Sheds. 

t  The  temperature  degrees  referred  to  in  this  paragraph  were  degrees  Fahrenheit. 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTOEIES  359 

account  of  their  studies  and  the  conclusions  they  reached.     Their 
report  is  as  follows: 

"  Our  observations  show  that  the  influence  of  warm,  moist 
atmosphere  is  to  diminish  the  difference  between  the  internal  tem- 
perature of  the  body  and  that  of  the  peripheral  parts.  The  tendency 
is  to  establish  a  more  uniform  temperature  of  the  body  as  a  whole, 
and  to  throw  a  tax  upon  the  powers  of  accommodation,  which  is 
indicated  by  the  low  blood-pressure,  notwithstanding  the  rapid  rate 
of  the  pulse.  This  is  exactly  the  condition  which  would  explain 
the  discomfort  and  low  state  of  health  of  which  many  of  the  weavers 
complain. 

"  During  work,  heat  is  produced  by  the  contraction  of  the 
muscles,  and  a  rise  of  internal  temperature  up  to  a  certain  optimum 
is  an  advantage  to  the  worker.  If,  however,  the  air  is  hot  and  moist, 
the  -worker  must  send  more  blood  to  the  skin  to  be  cooled,  and  must 
sweat  in  order  to  prevent  his  temperature  from  rising  too  high. 
Hot,  moist  air  is  not  favorable  for  the  cooling  of  the  blood  or  the 
evaporation  of  sweat.  Muscular  work,  by  creating  the  need  for  a 
greater  and  faster  supply  of  blood  to  the  muscles,  increases  the 
rate  of  the  heart's  action.  If,  at  the  same  time,  more  blood  must 
be  sent  to  the  skin  to  be  cooled,  then  an  extra  amount  of  work  must 
be  done  by  the  heart.  The  regulation  of  the  distribution  of  the  blood 
is  effected  by  the  nervous  system.  A  warm  skin  diminishes  the 
tone  of  the  muscles,  lowers  the  exchange  of  material  in  the  body, 
and  depresses  the  appetite;  and  the  natural  tendency  is  for  the 
nervous  system  to  become  less  active,  and  for  muscular  work  to 
be  diminished.  In  a  weaving-shed,  however,  the  machine  sets  the 
pace,  and  the  worker  must  neglect  the  dictates  of  his  sensations, 
which  are  the  natural  guardians  of  his  health  and  wellbeing.  He 
must  strive  as  far  as  possible  to  accommodate  himself  to  the  adverse 
conditions  of  heat  and  moisture.  Some  workers  can  respond  to  the 
demand  better  than  others,  but  all  must  have  their  powers  of 
accommodation  taxed  when  the  temperature  of  the  wet  bulb  rises 
much  above  70°  F.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  at  the  end 
of  a  day's  work  many  of  the  weavers  complain  that  they  have  no 
energy  left,  have  no  great  desire  for  food,  and  need  only  drink  and 
rest.  The  need  of  food  for  the  production  of  heat  in  the  body  is 
diminished  in  a  warm,  moist  atmosphere,  but  food  is  needed  for 
supplying  the  energy  for  work,  and  for  the  growth  of  the 
body."* 

The  opinion  of  British  experts  is  substantiated  by  American 
investigators.  Lee,  Winslow,  Crowder,  Benedict,  Evans,  Phelps, 
and  others  have  studied  the  questions  of  effects  of  high  temper- 
atures and  humidity  and  have  also  come  to  the  conclusion  that  these 

*  Second  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Humidity  and  Ventilation  in  Cotton- 
Weaving  Sheds,  p.  24. 


360 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  361 

physical  aspects  are  much  more  important  than  the  chemical  com- 
position of  the  air. 

Professor  C.-E.  A.  Winslow,  who  has  made  special  studies  of  ven- 
tilation for  schools  and  factories,  is  strongly  convinced  of  the  para- 
mount importance  of  the  physical  conditions  of  the  air,  and  has 
expressed  himself  as  follows  on  the  subject: 

"It  is  quite  clear  that  the  principal  thing  which  makes  the 
air  of  confined  spaces  harmful,  aside  from  the  special  problems 
presented  by  dust  and  fumes,  is  overheating,  especially  when  com- 
bined with  excessive  moisture.  Any  temperature  over  70°  F.  puts 
a  strain  upon  the  heat-regulating  mechanism  of  the  body,  keeps  the 
blood  in  the  skin  away  from  the  vital  organs,  and  produces  far- 
reaching  impairments  of  the  efficiency  of  the  nervous  system,  the 
digestive  system,  and  the  body  as  a  whole.  Changes  in  metabolism 
and  blood-pressure,  to  which  attention  has  recently  been  called  by 
Dr.  Oilman  Thompson,  are  similar  well-known  physiological  reactions 
to  temperature  change.  This  general  effect  of  heat  and  humidity 
is  familiar  to  every  one  who  contrasts  his  own  ability  to  do  either 
brain  work  or  muscular  work  in  the  dogs-day  and  in  brisk  autumn 
weather.  It  is  established  by  the  exhaustive  studies  of  physiologists 
in  Germany,  in  England,  and  in  the  United  States,  while  the  same 
studies  have  as  yet  failed  to  reveal  any  definite  bad  effects  due  to 
the  chemical  constituents  of  the  air.  Other  atmospheric  conditions 
are  still  in  doubt.  The  best  lower  limit  of  temperature  is  uncertain. 
The  action  of  hot,  dry  air  is  debatable.  The  physiological  effect 
of  odors  in  air  has  not  been  demonstrated.  It  is  beyond  question, 
however,  that  the  workers  in  a  factory  where  the  temperature  is 
over  70°  are  injured  by  a  lowering  of  their  vitality  that  may  lead  to 
tuberculosis  and  other  serious  diseases;  and  that  they  are  work- 
ing below  their  normal  standard  of  efficiency,  so  that  both  they  and 
their  employer  are  the  losers." 

Professor  F.  C.  Lee  has  the  following  to  say  on  this  subject. 

"  Of  the  two  environmental  conditions  in  question,  the  tem- 
perature and  the  humidity  of  the  air,  there  exists  a  certain  medium 
range  of  variation  within  which  the  human  body  is  capable  of  per- 
forming its  best  work.  Prolonged  exposure  to  extremes  of  these 
conditions  does  not  conduce  to  the  continuance  of  a  normal  physi- 
ological state.  The  effects  of  exposure  to  the  atmosphere  of  these 
situations  are  many  and  various.  The  bodily  mechanism  for  resist- 
ing external  heat  is  at  once  brought  into  action.  The  blood-vessels 
of  the  skin  become  dilated  and  charged  with  blood,  the  skin  becomes 
heated,  and  the  sweat-glands  become  active.  From  the  skin  there 
occurs  a  loss  of  bodily  heat  by  radiation,  conduction,  convection, 
and  the  evaporation  of  perspiration.  The  loss  of  heat  by  these  pro- 
cesses, amounting,  according  to  Rubner,  to  95.25  per  cent  of  the  total 


362  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

heat  loss,  may  suffice  for  a  time  to  keep  the  bodily  temperature  at  its 
normal  level.  In  proportion,  however,  as  the  temperature  of  the  air 
approaches  or  surpasses  that  of  the  body,  and  the  humidity  of  the 
air  is  sufficient  to  prevent  the  evaporation  of  sweat,  loss  of  bodily 
heat  by  the  customary  channels  becomes  lessened.  Without  ade- 
quate means  for  eliminating  the  heat  that  is  being  constantly  pro- 
duced within,  the  internal  temperature  rises  and  a  febrile  condition 
results.  Such  a  state  is  reached  the  sooner  the  more  mechanical 
work  is  performed  and  the  more  heat  is  thereby  produced.  Its 
oncoming  is  favored  also  by  a  lack  of  movement  in  the  air.  With 
a  continuance  of  the  unfavorable  environmental  conditions,  a 
simple  rise  of  internal  temperature  may  pass  into  a  higher  fever 
characteristic  of  simple  heat  prostration,  or  a  moderately  severe 
heat-stroke  with  a  temperature  up  to  40.6°  C.  (105°  F.),  and  finally 
into  the  hyperpyrexial  or  intense  form  of  heat-stroke,  in  which  the 
bodily  temperature  has  been  known  to  rise  to  the  phenomenal  height 
of  47.6°  C.  (117.8°  F.).  That  the  elevation  of  bodily  temperature  is 
the  result  of  an  elevation  of  external  temperature  and  humidity 
combined  has  been  well  shown  by  various  British  authorities, 
whose  information  is  drawn  partly  from  laboratory  experiments  and 
partly  from  observations  in  mines  and  factories. 

"  When  in  a  hot  and  humid  atmosphere,  the  blood-vessels  of 
the  skin  are  dilated  and  overcharged  with  blood,  the  brain  and 
spinal  cord,  among  other  organs,  are  rendered  correspondingly 
anemic.  This  is  sufficient  of  itself  to  account  largely  for  the  feeling 
of  weariness,  the  indifference  and  apathy  toward  laboring,  that  are 
then  present.  The  changed  bodily  sensations  and  the  general  bodily 
discomfort  may  also  tend  toward  the  same  end.  But  if  the  stage  of 
elevated  bodily  temperature  be  reached,  the  internal  conditions 
are  still  more  radically  changed.  A  febrile  state,  especially  when 
pronounced  and  long-continued,  affords  unusually  good  chemical 
conditions  for  the  oncoming  of  fatigue.  One  of  the  striking 
metabolic  accompaniments  of  the  fevers  that  result  from  bacterial 
invasion  of  the  living  body  is  an  increased  excretion  of  nitrogen, 
which  is  derived,  as  is  inferred  from  the  work  of  various  investiga- 
tors, from  an  increased  destruction  of  the  proteins  of  the  tissues, 
probably  due  largely  to  the  direct  action  of  the  higher  temperature 
upon  them." 

Summarizing  the  discussion  of  the  character  and  effects  of  con- 
fined air,  we  may  make  the  following  resume  of  the  present  state  of 
opinion  on  the  subject: 

(1)  That  confined  air  in  living-rooms  and  in  workshops  differs 
from  normal  air  in  the  following  respcets : 

(a)  Decrease  in  percentage  of  oxygen. 

(6)  Increase  in  percentage  of  carbonic  acid  (CCfe). 

(c)  Presence  of  certain  volatile  odoriferous  organic  products. 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES 


364  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

(d)  Presence  of  micro-organisms  and   possible   presence  of 

infectious  bacteria. 

(e)  Frequent  addition  of  dust,  gases  and  fumes. 
(/)  Higher  rate  of  temperature. 

(0)  Increase  in  amount  of  moisture. 

(2)  That  ordinary  decrease^  of  oxygen  as  found  in  inhabited 
rooms  and  shops  probably  doesjiot  exert  any  deleterious  influence 
on  the  persons  within  them; 

(3)  That  an  increase  in  the  contents  of  carbonic  acid  (€62) 
from  4  parts  to  15  and  up  to  100  parts  in  10,000  volumes  is  not 
dangerous  to  health. 

(4)  That  it  has  not  as  yet  been  proven  that  the  presence  of 
organic  matter  in  confined  air  has  an,  important  bearing  upon  the 
health  of  the  persons  therein,  although  a  prolonged  breathing  of  a 
large  quantity  of  volatile  malodorous  products  may  be  followed  by 
nausea,  loss  of  appetite  and  general  malaise; 

(5)  That  the  presence  of  dust,  gases  and  fumes  is  extremely 
dangerous  in  proportion  to  their  kind,  character  and  quantity  and  the 
conditions  of  bodily  resistance  of  the  workers; 

(6)  That  while  it  is  possible  that  tuberculosis  and  some  other 
bacterial  diseases  may  be  due  to  aerial  infection,  the  probability  of 
such  infection  is  not  great; 

(7)  That  the  ill  effects  commonly  ascribed  to  impure  confined 
air  of  ill-ventilated  rooms  and  shops  are  due  not  so  much  to  the 
chemical  impurities  in  the  air,  but  to  the  physical  properties  such 
as  increased  temperature,  higher  rate  of  humidity  and  stagnation 
of  the  air  surrounding  the  body; 

(8)  That  an  increase  of  the  temperature  of  confined  air  in  work- 
shops above  70°  F.,  and  particularly  an  increase  in  the  wet  bulb 
reading  of  the  thermometer  above  the  same  degree  is  probably 
injurious  to  health  if  maintained  for  too  prolonged  periods,  and  may 
cause  fatigue,  lassitude,   decreased  metabolism,   anaemia  and  loss 
of  resistance,  predisposing  the  workers  to  acute  and  chronic  diseases. 

II 
PRINCIPLES  AND  METHODS  OF  VENTILATION 

THE  chemical  and  physical  changes  in  air  confined  in  enclosed 
spaces  increase  in  intensity,  until  a  time  comes  when  the  air  becomes 
so  different  from  normal  air  that  a  further  sojourn  in  such  rooms 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  365 

may  be  injurious.  If  life  and  work  are  to  go  on  within  the  rooms, 
a  change  must  be  made  in  the  air.  This  change  of  air  in  a  room- 
lias  been  designated  by  the  word  ventilation,  by  which  is  meant  a 
substitution  of  outside  air  for  that  of  inside  air.  This  definition, 
however,  is  not  complete  nor  entirely  correct.  By  ventilation  is 
meant  not  only  a  simple  change  but  a  certain  kind  and  character 
of  change.  Ventilation  means  removal  of  air  charged  with  chemical 
impurities,  dusts,  gases  and  fumes,  and  the  substitution  for  it  of 
other  air  which  is  normal  in  its  chemical  composition  and  also  in  its 
physical  condition. 

Air  is  a  gas.  As  such,  it  has  the  properties  of  all  gases;  it  diffuses 
in  space;  it  is  subject  to  motion;  it  is  subject  to  variations  of  tem- 
perature. The  specific  gravity  of  air  differs  according  to  its  tem- 
perature. Volumes  of  air  at  a  different  temperature  have  a  different 
specific  gravity  and  pressure.  The  volumes  of  air  which  are  at  a 
higher  temperature  and  exert  a  lesser  pressure,  come  in  contact 
with  the  volumes  of  air  which  are  at  a  lower  temperature  and  an 
increased  pressure.  A  general  movement  of  air,  therefore,  is  con- 
stantly going  on  at  different  rates  of  velocity.  When  the  velocity 
of  air  is  great,  the  motion  becomes  noticeable  and  is  called  wind. 
Due  to  the  difference  in  temperature  in  different  localities,  there 
is  always  a  movement  going  on,  so  that  through  diffusion,  through 
the  winds,  through  the  differences  in  temperature,  the  air  is  con- 
stantly changing  from-  place  to  place. 

Spontaneous  ventilation,  which  is  caused  by  the  described 
properties  of  air,  makes  it  possible  for  confined  spaces  to  have  a 
certain  air-change  without  special  artificial  provisions  being  made. 
The  porosity  of  materials  of  construction,  the  crevices  and  cracks 
which  are  found  in  buildings,  the  openings  which  are  made  for  various 
purposes,  all  serve  as  means  of  air  diffusion.  It  is  due  to  this  fact 
that  ventilation,  or  the  proper  change  of  air  in  confined  rooms, 
has  been  so  long  neglected,  because  in  ordinary  rooms,  especially  of 
flimsy  construction,  there  has  always  been  possible  a  certain  change 
of  air  which  made  a  sojourn  in  them  more  or  less  comfortable.  There- 
fore, no  special  provisions  were  thought  necessary  for  introducing 
a  definite  quantity  of  air,  or  for  the  removal  of  impurities  of  the  air 
or  change  in  its  physical  conditions. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  spontaneous  ventilation  cannot  be  depended 
upon.  It  is  neither  constant  nor  uniform.  The  rate  of  change 
and  the  amount  of  air-change  are  variable.  While  it  may  be  suf- 
ficient for  rooms  in  ill-constructed  buildings,  where  there  are  few 


366  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

persons  and  where  no  special  impurities  are  added  to  the  air,  spon- 
taneous ventilation  cannot  be  relied  upon  in  modern  well-constructed 
buildings,  or  in  rooms  where  a  large  number  of  persons  are  con- 
gregated, or  where  many  mechanical  and  chemical  processes  are 
being  carried  on. 

The  quantity  of  air  needed  in  manufacturing  establishments 
depends  upon  a  number  of  factors,  such  as  the  character  of  con- 
struction of  a  building,  character,  size  and  air  space  of  the  room, 
number  and  character  of  the  persons  in  the  room,  extent  of  illumi- 
nation, combustion,  and  other  physical  and  chemical  processes 
going  on  within  the  room,  the  kind  and  intensity  of  work  which 
is  being  performed,  and  a  number  of  other  factors. 

The  number  of  persons  in  a  room  is  of  importance  because  of 
the  impurities  and  changes  in  the  physical  conditions  of  the  air 
which  are  due  to  each  additional  person  in  the  room.  The  age 
as  well  as  the  sex  of  persons  should  be  considered,  for  an  adult 
male  worker  needs  more  air  than  an  adult  woman,  and  more  than 
minors  and  children.  More  air  is  needed  where  gas  or  other  arti- 
ficial illumination  (except  electricity)  is  used,  or  where  certain 
mechanical  or  chemical  processes  are  going  on,  or  where  either 
dust,  gases  or  fumes  are  added  to  the  contents  of  the  room.  The 
character  of  the  work  has  also  a  bearing  on  the  problem,  because 
an  adult  person  at  rest  does  not  take  in  as  much  air  and  his  rate  of 
metabolism  is  much  less;  while  a  person  hard  at  work  respires  a 
large  quantity  of  air,  adds  more  impurities  to  the  air  and  pro- 
duces more  heat  and  moisture. 

The  quantity  of  air  which  a  person  needs  depends  on  a  number 
of  factors.  Pettenkoffer  and  his  pupils  showed  that  the  amount 
of  carbonic  acid  (CO2)  in  the  air  goes  hand  in  hand  with  organic 
impurities  from  the  presence  of  persons,  and  is  an  index  of  the 
amount  of  the  various  impurities  in  the  air.  They  have  taught 
that  we  should  regard  the  air  in  a  room  in  which  human  beings 
are  found  as  reaching  a  stage  where  it  must  be  changed  when  its 
contents  of  CO2  exceed  2  volumes  per  10,000  in  excess  of  the  normal 
contents  of  C02  in  the  air  of  cities.  Based  upon  this  difference, 
Pettenkoffer  calculated  that  the  average  adult  individual  needs  about 
3000  cubic  feet  of  air  in  an  hour  in  order  to  keep  the  CO2  contents 
at  6  per  10,000  volumes.  This  standard,  while  coinciding  with 
the  generally  accepted  opinion  of  the  needed  quantity  of  air,  cannot, 
however,  be  so  well  determined  on  the  CO2  contents  because  of  the 
possible  presence  of  a  larger  quantity  of  CC>2,  due  to  various  chemical 


AIE  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  367 

processes,  and"  because  C02  is  not  always  a  reliable  index  of  other 
impurities  such  as  gases,  dusts  and  increased  temperature  and 
humidity  of  rooms. 

Standards  have  also  been  established  for  the  size  of  rooms, 
for  their  height,  and  for  the  number  of  square  feet  and  of  cubic 
feet  of  space  for  each  individual.  Some  of  these  standards  have 
been  legalized  by  industrial  codes  in  various  countries  and  states. 
Thus,  we  find  statutes  requiring  250  to  400  cubic  feet  of  air-space 
for  each  individual,  10  or  12  feet  for  the  height  of  rooms,  and  a 
minimum  and  maximum  dry  and  wet  bulb  thermometer  reading 
in  workshops. 

The  State  of  Illinois  gives  several  very  interesting  standards 
as  to  the  air-space  per  employe  needed  according  to  the  difference 
in  the  character  of  the  rooms,  as  follows: 

Every  room  or  apartment  of  a  factory,  mercantile  establish- 
ment, mill  or  workshop  where  a  person  is  employed,  must  have 
500  cubic  feet  of  air-space  per  employe.  Fresh  air  must  be  supplied 
so  as  not  to  cause  injurious  drops  of  temperature  to  fall  below 
normal.  Supply  must  not  be  taken  from  cellar  or  basement.  Where 
lights  do  not  consume  oxygen  250  cubic  feet  is  sufficient.  Rooms 
with  200  cubic  feet  per  employe  and  outside  window  and  door  area 
one-eighth  of  floor  space  do  not  require  artificial  ventilation,  but 
must  be  properly  aired  before  beginning  work  and  at  noon  hour. 
Rooms  with  500  to  2000  cubic  feet  per  employe  with  outside  win- 
dow and  doors  one-eighth  of  floor  space  must  have  artificial  ventila- 
tion when  weather  requires  windows  closed,  supplying  1500  cubic 
feet  of  fresh  air  to  each  employee.  Rooms  with  less  than  500  cubic 
feet  per  employe,  rooms  without  outside  windows  or  doors,  rooms 
with  less  than  2000  cubic  feet  per  employe  and  outside  windows 
and  door  area  less  than  one-eighth  of  floor  space,  must  have  artificial 
ventilation,  supplying  1800  cubic  feet  of  fresh  air  per  employe  each 
working  hour. 

The  size  of  the  room,  while  having  some  bearing  upon  the  length 
of  time  in  which  the  air  of  the  room  may  become  uncomfortable, 
does  not  play  an  important  role  in  ventilation,  because  the  chem- 
ical and  physical  conditions  of  the  air  in  the  room  do  not  depend 
upon  the  size  of  rooms  but  upon  the  rate  of  change  and  the  veloc- 
ity of  air  which  comes  in  from  the  outside.  A  very  small  space 
where  the  rate  of  change  is  higher  will  have  purer  air  than  a  large 
room  in  which  the  rate  of  change  is  lower. 

A  rate  of  change  in  the  air  of  a  room  of  about  three  times  an 
hour  is  hardly  perceptible  to  the  ordinary  senses  of  persons.  A 


368 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  369 

rate  of  change  from  four  to  five  times  an  hour  may  not  be  percep- 
tible, according  to  the  weather,  the  clothing  of  persons  and  the 
character  of  the  work  which  they  perform.  Higher  rates  of  a 
change,  however,  especially  when  air  comes  through  large  openings, 
are  liable  to  be  felt  as  draughts  and  may  become  harmful  because 
of  rapid  evaporation  from  the  skin  and  of  the  catarrhs  and  colds 
resulting  therefrom.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  winter-time 
when  the  temperature  of  the  incoming  air  is  so  much  lower  than  the 
air  in  the  room. 

It  has  been  determined  that  about  3000  cubic  feet  of  air  are 
necessary  on  the  average  for  each  individual  per  hour;  also  that 
the  air  in  a  room  may  be  changed  from  three  to  five  times  during 
the  hour  without  causing  draughts  and  discomforts  from  them. 
Based  upon  this,  it  has  been  calculated  that  an  air-space  between 
700  and  1000  cubic  feet  of  space  per  person  will  suffice  to  admit 
the  necessary  amount  of  air  into  the  room  without  causing  draughts. 

Spontaneous  ventilation  carried  on  by  diffusion  through  differ- 
ence of  temperature,  causing  change  of  air  through  the  porosity 
of  the  various  building  materials,  crevices  and  cracks  in  ill-con- 
structed buildings,  and  other  openings,  is  very  seldom  sufficient. 

The  porosity  of  walls,  ceilings,  floors  and  roofs  differs  very 
much,  according  to  the  material  which  is  used  for  construction 
and  according  to  the  inner  and  outer  decorations  of  these  surfaces. 
Although  most  materials  are  porous,  the  amount  of  air  which  can 
penetrate  the  walls  and  floors  constructed  of  such  materials  depends 
upon  their  physical  state.  Damp  walls  and  floors  lose  their  porosity 
and  the  ordinary  calcimining,  and  to  a  still  greater  degree,  papering 
and  painting  with  oil  colors,  may  make  them  practically  imper- 
meable. Nor  can  much  reliance  be  put  upon  ventilation  through 
imperfections,  cracks,  crevices,  etc.,  which  are  only  found  in  old 
or  ill-constructed  buildings.  We  may  safely  conclude  that  the 
ventilation  which  may  be  gained  through  porous  materials  and 
imperfections  in  buildings  is  practically  negligible. 

Windows  are  usually  regarded  as  a  great  aid  to  ventilation. 
They  are  constructed  however  not  primarily  for  ventilating  pur- 
poses, but  for  light.  When  windows  are  ill-constructed  there  are 
always  spaces  and  imperfections  around  the  sashes  and  frames 
through  which  air  may  come  in.  In  better  construction  this  is 
negligible.  Closed  windows  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  proper 
means  for  ventilation,  although  in  winter  when  the  difference  of 
temperature  between  the  outside  air  and  the  inside  is  great,  the 


370 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


pressure  of  the  colder,  heavier,  outside  air  may  be  so  great  that  a 
certain  amount  of  air  goes  through  them. 

Windows,  however,  in  order  to  serve  for  ventilating  purposes 


must  be  either  partly  or  fully  open.  The  opening  of  windows  in  the 
summer,  when  the  temperature  of  the  inside  and  the  outside  air 
is  nearly  equal,  does  not  serve  for  ventilating  purposes,  because,  in 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  371 

the  absence  of  wind,  very  little  change  of  air  can  take  place  through 
such  openings  when  there  is  very  little  difference  in  the  temper- 
ature of  the  inside  and  outside  air.  It  is  only  when  there  is  more 
that  5  or  10  degrees  difference  between  the  outside  and  inside  tem- 
perature and  when  there  is  much  movement  of  air  that  any  con- 
siderable change  of  air  can  occur. 

In  winter,  when  the  temperature  is  low,  it  is  not  always  practicable 
to  open  the  windows,  because  of  the  incoming  cold  air.  Windows 
are  therefore  not  good  means  of  ventilation  in  either  very  cold  or 
very  warm  weather.  Only  in  temperate  weather  may  a  partial  or 
full  opening  of  the  windows  serve  a  good  purpose.  Doors  serve  to 
change  the  air,  depending  upon  the  frequency  with  which  these  doors 
are  opened  and  where  these  doors  open  to.  The  amount  of  air  which 
may  be  thus  gained  is  difficult  to  determine. 

In  order  to  increase  the  rate  of  ventilation  in  rooms,  it  is  the  prac- 
tice to  make  special  openings  for  the  purpose,  such  openings  being 
called  inlets  or  outlets,  according  to  whether  they  are  constructed  for 
the  incoming  or  for  the  letting  out  of  air.  These  inlets  or  outlets,  how- 
ever, do  not  always  serve  the  purpose  for  which  they  are  constructed, 
as  it  is  difficult  to  determine  beforehand  how  the  air  will  act,  and  the 
inlet  at  times  works  as  an  outlet  and  vice  versa.  As  a  rule,  inlet 
openings  are  made  in  the  lower  part  of  a  room  for  the  cold  air  to 
come  in  at  the  bottom  and  distribute  itself  in  the  room;  while  out- 
let openings  are  made  at  the  top  for  the  warm  air  to  be  let  out. 

Openings  for  ventilation  are  made  in  walls,  in  ceilings,  in  floors, 
or  in  windows.  There  are  a  great  many  devices  and  appliances 
patented  by  inventors,  for  each  of  which  special  advantages  are 
claimed.  All  these  openings,  of  whatever  nature,  and  in  what- 
ever part  of  the  room  they  may  be,  serve  at  times  for  the  purpose 
of  letting  out  air  from  the  room  or  letting  in  air  from  the  outside 
into  the  room. 

These  openings  are  often  made  by  cutting  out  a  circular  piece 
from  the  upper  part  of  the  window-pane,  and  inserting  a  piece  of 
perforated  sheet-metal.  Another  device  is  to  raise  the  lower  sash 
and  insert  in  the  opening  a  wooden  board  or  perforated  sheet-metal 
box  or  plate,  so  that  the  air  may  come  in  through  this  part  as  well 
as  through  the  opening  left  between  the  lower  and  upper  sashes. 
Window-panes  are  sometimes  constructed  on  pivots,  so  as  to  swing 
and  open  when  necessary.  There  are  also  a  number  of  devices, 
consisting  of  boxes,  tubes,  elbows,  etc.,  which  are  inserted  either 
in  the  sash  or  in  the  wall  under  the  sash  of  the  window.  Perforated 


372 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  373 

bricks  with  large  openings  outside  and  small  openings  inside  are 
at  times  inserted  in  the  wall,  serving  for  ventilating  purposes. 
Hollow  beams  may  be  inserted,  with  openings  in  the  ceilings,  so  that 
the  air  from  the  outside  may  enter,  or  the  air  from  the  rooms  may 
escape  through  these  openings. 

All  these  devices  may  serve  a  good  purpose  at  times  and  may 
be  the  means  of  considerable  exchange  of  air  under  favorable  cir- 
cumstances and  when  properly  arranged  and  maintained.  No 
reliance,  however,  can  be  put  upon  them  for  ventilating  crowded 
rooms,  and  it  is  impossible  to  calculate  the  rate  of  exchange  through 
them  and  the  amount  of  air  which  may  be  let  in  or  let  out.  As 
an  ancillary  means  of  ventilation  to  ordinary  window-ventilated 
rooms  they  may  be  valuable,  but  this  is  as  much  as  can  be  conceded 
to  them. 

Better  ventilation  is  gained  by  tubes,  shafts  and  openings  which 
are  specially  made  for  the  purpose,  or  which,  though  made  for  other 
purposes,  serve  the  same  effect.  Elevator-shafts,  courts,  vent- 
shafts,  stairwells,  and  other  vertical  openings  made  throughout  the 
building,  often  play  an  important  role  in  ventilation,  by  the  large 
amount  of  air  which  is  circulated  through  them,  aided  by  the  forcible 
ascent  and  descent  of  the  elevators,  by  the  communication  of  the 
shafts  with  the  external  air  at  the  bottom  by  intakes,  and  at  the 
top  by  the  opening  to  the  external  air. 

Shafts  in  the  form  of  tubes  and  ducts  are  specially  constructed 
for  ventilating  purposes,  with  openings  to  each  room  and  to  the 
outside,  and  act  as  outlets  for  the  confined  air  of  the  room,  and  at 
times  may  also  serve  for  inlets  of  the  outside  air.  Chimneys  also 
serve  the  same  purpose.  The  amount  of  air  which  goes  through 
these  chimneys  and  other  openings  depends  very  much  upon  external 
and  internal  conditions  of  temperature  and  many  other  factors. 

The  means  of  ventilation  through  the  openings  described  may 
be  adequate  at  certain  times  and  for  ordinary  rooms,  but  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  they  are  sufficient  for  industrial  establishments  where 
a  large  number  of  employes  are  at  work  or  where  special  impurities 
are  produced. 

In  workshops  where  a  large  number  of  workers  are  employed, 
where  there  are  not  more  than  250  to  400  cubic  feet  of  space  for  each 
worker,  and  where  considerable  dust,  deleterious  gases  and  fumes 
are  produced,  no  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  ventilation  through 
windows  or  through  any  of  the  other  openings  described. 

The  problem  of  ventilating   crowded  workshops,   therefore,   is 


374  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

still  to  be  solved.  The  large  majority  of  workshops  and  factories 
are  badly  ventilated  whenever  there  are  no  special  artificial  mechan- 
ical means  used  for  ventilating  purposes.  Complaints  of  the  bad 
ventilation  of  factories  are  universal  and  are  found  in  all  reports 
of  factory  inspectors  of  different  countries  and  states. 

No  attention  whatever  is  paid  by  those  who  construct  factory 
buildings  or  by  individual  employers  to  the  subject  of  ventilation. 
The  opinion  seems  to  prevail  that  a  change  of  air  in  a  room  should 
come  by  itself  without  human  aid  or  mechanical  means,  and  that 
no  special  provisions  need  be  made  for  ventilating  industrial  establish- 
ments. According  to  a  table  presented  by  the  New  York  State 
Factory  Commission  in  its  investigation  of  5124  shops,  it  appears 
that  only  604  or  11.8  per  cent  were  provided  with  some  system  of 
mechanical  ventilation,  and  this  was  not  always  in  good  order  or 
properly  used.  As  the  report  of  the  Commission  says,  "  The  problem 
of  ventilation  in  industrial  establishments  is  very  great  and  cannot 
be  solved  by  additional  opening  of  windows  or  even  by  special  devices 
such  as  have  been  put  in  about  J  15.5  per  cent  of  the  shops 
investigated."  * 

The  industries  in  which  the  worst  conditions  were  found  by 
the  Commission  were  the  chemical,  textile,  printing,  tobacco,  arti- 
ficial flowers  and  feathers,  and  human  hair  trades.  In  these  indus- 
tries there  is  a  very  large  amount  of  dust,  and  in  some  of  them,  as 
in  printing,  there  is  a  certain  percentage  of  lead-dust  in  the  air. 


Ill 
MECHANICAL  VENTILATION] 

By  mechanical  ventilation  is  understood  a  change  of  air  in 
rooms  brought  about  by  mechanical  means.  Before  discussing 
real  mechanical  means  for  ventilating  purposes,  attention  must 
be  drawn  to  two  aids  to  ventilation  which  are  sometimes  resorted 
to  in  lieu  of  mechanical  ventilation.  These  are  wind  and  temper- 
ature. 

Wind,  or  a  strong  movement  of  air,  when  passing  about  a  house 
or  building,  may  produce  a  change  of  air  in  a  building  by  aspira- 
ting the  air  in  passing  over  certain  openings  in  the  building.  Notter 
and  Firth  define  the  aspirating  action  of  wind  as  follows: 

*  Report  of  Director,  Second  Report  of  Factory  Investigating  Commission,  vol.  ii,  p.  43  . 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES 


375 


376 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


"  A  moving  body  of  air  sets  in  motion  all  the  air  in  its  vicinity. 
It  drives  air  before  it,  and,  at  the  same  time,  causes  a  pressure - 
vacuum  on  either  side  of  its  own  path,  toward  which  all  the  air 
in  the  vicinity  flows  at  angles  more  or  less  approaching  a  right 
angle.  In  this  way  a  small  current  moving  at  a  high  velocity  will 


Kit?       Courtesy  American  Blower  Co.,  Detroit. 

Base  Fan  Set  in  Top  of  Window. 

set  in  motion  a  large  body  of  air.  The  wind,  therefore,  blowing 
over  the  tops  of  chimneys,  causes  a  current  at  right  angles  to  itself 
up  the  chimney,  and  the  unequal  draught  it  furnishes  is  owing  in 
part  to  the  variations  in  the  velocity  of  the  wind.  Advantage, 
therefore,  can  be  taken  of  the  aspirating  power  of  the  wind  to  cause 
a  movement  of  air  up  a  tube." 

Based  upon  the  aspirating  power  of  the  wind  numerous  devices 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  377 

have  been  patented  in  the  form  of  cowls,  and  other  ventilators, 
which  are  usually  placed  upon  chimneys  and  openings  on  the  roof, 
and  are  said  to  facilitate  the  aspirating  power  of  the  wind,  and  are 
so  arranged  that  they  may  adjust  themselves  to  the  direction  of  the 
wind.  A  very  popular  device  of  this  character  used  in  this  coun- 
try is  the  Globe  ventilator,  shown  in  the  illustration  on  page  375. 
The  wind  being  variable,  cannot,  however,  be  wholly  depended 
upon  as  a  means  for  ventilation  where  such  is  necessary  at  all 
times. 

Heat  has  been  relied  upon  as  a  means  of  ventilation  in  many 
living-rooms,  although  it  is  not  so  applicable  to  workshops  and  fac- 
tories. The  ventilating  qualities  of  open  fireplaces  are  well  known. 
With  an  ordinary  fire  ten  to  fifteen  thousand  cubic  feet  of  air  are 
drawn  by  a  chimney  in  an  hour  in  an  ordinary  medium-size  room. 
According  to  Notter  and  Firth,  the  best  type  of  open  fireplace  causes 
2600  cubic  feet  of  air  to  pass  up  a  flue  per  pound  of  coal  consumed, 
or  a  total  of  18,000  cubic  feet  of  air  per  hour.  Chimneys,  even 
when  fireplaces  are  not  needed,  and  other  shafts  and  ducts  which 
are  carried  vertically  throughout  the  whole  building,  may  serve  as 
a  means  of  ventilation  through  artificial  heating  by  gas-jets  within 
these  chimneys  or  shafts.  The  heating  causes  a  rise  of  tempera- 
ture, and  the  ascension  of  the  air  within  the  tubes  thus  causes  an 
aspirating  action  and  an  exhaust  of  air  from  the  rooms  with  which 
they  are  connected. 

Mechanical  ventilation  is  carried  on  by  means  of  devices  which 
(a)  stir  up  the  air  within  the  room,  (6)  take  out,  aspirate,  and  ex- 
haust the  air  from  the  room,  (c)  bring  in,  propel,  shove  in,  air  from 
the  outside  into  the  room,  and  (d)  which  combine  one  or  two  or 
all  of  the  above  methods. 

A  simple  stirring  up  of  the  air  of  a  room  and  setting  it  in  motion, 
while  neither  removing  the  impurities  from  the  air  nor  changing 
its  physical  condition  much,  serves,  however,  to  break  up  the  stag- 
nation of  air  in  ill-ventilated  rooms  and  to  increase  the  evaporation 
from  the  skin  of  the  workers  and  also  reduce  the  temperature. 
Hence,  the  action  of  electric  or  other  fans  within  the  room  often 
reduces  the  temperature  of  the  room  and  lowers  its  relative  humid- 
ity, thereby  increasing  the  comfort  of  the  workers. 

The  three  methods  of  mechanical  ventilation  are  the  vacuum, 
plenum,  and  combined  methods.  In  the  vacuum  method  air  is  ex- 
hausted or  aspirated  from  the  room;  in  the  plenum,  air  is  brought 
into  the  room  from  the  outside;  and  in  the  combined  method,  air 


378 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


is  taken  out  from  the  room  and  other  air  at  the  same  time  is  brought 
into  the  room. 

The  vacuum  system  of  ventilation  consists  in  drawing  the  air 
from  a  room  by  forcible  means  and  aspiration,  without  making 
any  provisions  whatever  for  a  supply  of  fresh  air  to  be  brought 
into  the  room.  Reliance  is  placed  upon  the  fact  that  when  air 
is  withdrawn  from  a  room  other  air  must  necessarily  enter,  on  the 
principle  of  nature  abhorring  a  vacuum.  The  supply  of  air  is 
usually  supposed  to  come  in  through  the  windows,  doors,  transoms, 
and  other  openings,  and  also  through  the  porosity  of  the  walls  and 
the  cracks,  crevices  and  imperfections  in  the  building  construc- 


Courtesy  American  Blower  Co.,  Detroit. 

Exhauster  in  Connection  with  System  of  Hoods  and  Piping  for  the  Removal 
of  Dust  from  Emery  Wheels. 

tion.  It  is  evident  that  such  a  system  of  ventilation  has  a  great 
disadvantage  in  not  being  able  to  make  provision  for  a  supply  of 
fresh  air;  and  sometimes  it  may  happen  that  the  air  which  comes 
in  may  not  come  from  proper  or  clean  sources.  Neither  can  the 
quantity  of  air  and  the  rate  of  change  of  ventilation  be  very  well 
calculated,  nor  is  it  possible  to  modify  or  temper  the  incoming 
air. 

There  are  two  types  of  the  vacuum  system  of  ventilation:  the 
general  and  local.  By  general  vacuum  ventilation  is  meant  that 
which  withdraws  the  air  from  the  room  by  means  of  fans  through 
openings  in  the  wall  or  window,  without  any  tubes  or  ducts  whatever. 
The  fan  is  placed  in  an  opening  in  the  window  or  in  the  wall,  and  by 
its  motion  is  made  to  withdraw  the  air  from  the  room.  The  advan- 
tage of  this  method  is  the  low  initial  cost  and  the  comparatively 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  379 

low  cost  of  maintenance.  It  is  especially  valuable  in  laundries, 
foundries,  and  all  such  plants,  where  there  is  much  heat  and  where  a 
lot  of  steam,  gases,  fumes,  etc.,  are  generated.  The  local  system 
of  vacuum  ventilation  is  especially  adapted  to  the  exhaust  of  dust, 
gases  and  fumes  at  the  place  of  production.  This  method  needs 
hoods  and  ducts  and  will  be  discussed  in  a  later  chapter. 

In  the  plenum  system  of  ventilation,  air  is  forcibly  driven  and 
propelled  into  the  room  by  means  of  fans.  While  by  this  method 
it  is  possible  to  choose  the  source  of  the  air  as  well  as  to  modify  its 
quantity  and  quality,  there  is  no  provision  made  for  the  removal 
of  the  bad  air  from  the  room,  which  is  simply  diluted  and  mixed 
with  the  fesh  air  from  the  outside. 

The  best  system  of  ventilation  is  that  which  combines  the  two 
methods;  which  simultaneously  exhausts  or  removes  the  air  from 
the  room,  and  replenishes  it  with  a  fresh  supply  from  the  outside. 

The  selection  of  the  appropriate  method  of  ventilation  depends 
very  much  upon  individual  circumstances  in  each  industrial  estab- 
lishment, on  the  power  at  hand,  the  number  of  persons  in  the  estab- 
lishment, the  character  of  production,  and  a  number  of  other  factors. 

The  exhaust  system  is  the  simplest;  but  it  is  used  chiefly  either 
in  places  where  local  exhaust  is  necessary  for  dust,  gases  and  fumes, 
or  in  large  rooms  which  are  not  occupied  by  too  many  persons.  The 
plenum  system  is  usually  installed  in  establishments  where  a  large 
supply  of  air  must  be  introduced  from  some  remote  source  and  where 
provision  must  be  made  for  the  modification  of  the  incoming  air 
either  by  cleaning,  filtering  or  washing,  or  by  tempering  and 
humidifying. 

The  motive  power  for  all  fans  may  be  the  same  which  is  used 
for  the  driving  of  the  other  machinery  within  the  building,  or  may  be 
separate  from  the  general  motive  power  of  the  factory.  The  fans 
may  be  driven  by  belts  or  may  have  their  individual  motors. 
A  large  number  and  variety  of  fans  are  used  for  ventila- 
ting purposes.  They  may  be  divided  into  two  principal  types: 
the  propeller  type  and  the  centrifugal  fan.  They  are  also  called 
low-pressure  and  high-pressure  fans.  The  propeller  fan  is  the  one 
which  acts  upon  the  principle  of  the  ship-screw  propeller  turning 
the  blades  of  the  fan  on  its  axis,  thereby  either  removing  air  from 
the  room  or  introducing  air  into  the  room,  according  to  the  shape 
of  the  blades. 

The  propeller  fan,  of  which  "  Blackman's  air  propeller  "  is  an 
accepted  and  popular  type,  is  used  in  places  where  there  is  low 


380 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


resistance,  and  where  some  provision  is  made  against  draughts  caused 
by  the  blowing  fan.  This  type  of  fan  usually  needs  no  special  ducts, 
as  the  provision  of  ducts  increases  the  resistance,  and  the  low-pres- 
sure fan  does  not  work  well  with  an  increased  resistance  of  air. 

Centrifugal  fans  are  used 
where  there  is  considerable 
resistance  to  be  overcome  either 
for  taking  out  or  introducing 
air.  They  are  usually  run  at  a 
high  velocity  and  speed  and 
are  used  either  for  local  exhaust 
of  dust  from  grinding-wheels 
or  machines  by  which  consid- 

courtesy  American  Blower  Co.,  Detroit*     erable  dust  is  created,  or  when 
Exhausting  in  Room.  narrow  tubes  and  ducts  must  be 

installed  and  run  for  long  dis- 
tances, or  where  there  is  considerable  resistance  to  the  air  which  is 
introduced.  In  this  type  of  fan  the  air-inlet  is  in  the  center  of 
the  fan,  which  is  usually  enclosed  in  a  box  or  "  housed." 

There  is  a  variety  of  fans  of  both  kinds,  a  large  number  of  patents 
having  been  issued  to  different  concerns,  each  claiming  their  pro- 
duction the  best.  Some  of  the  illustrations  show  the  type  of  fan 
most  popular  in  this  country,  although  there  are  many  others 
perhaps  equally  good.  With- 
out going  into  technical  de- 
scriptions of  the  fans,  ducts, 
and  parts  of  the  ventilating 
mechanism,  it  is  necessary  to 
say  that  the  installation  of  a 
mechanical  ventilating  plant 
is  a  highly  technical  problem 
in  each  separate  shop  and  must 
be  solved  on  the  spot,  taking 
all  the  individual  factors  into 
consideration.  It  is  therefore 

necessary  in  each  and  every  case  to  employ  a  mechanical  and  venti- 
lating expert  to  install  a  proper  system  of  ventilation  according 
to  the  exact  needs  and  wants  of  each  plant. 

It  must,  however,  be  noted  that  as  a  rule,  the  ventilating  plants 
which  are  found  by  inspectors  in  industrial  establishments  act  in  a 
very  faulty  manner,  because  either  their  installation  has  not  been 


Courtesy  American  Blower  Co., Detroit. 

'Sirocco"  Fan  Blowing  into  Room. 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  381 

properly  done  or  because  of  faulty  calculations  of  the  diameters 
of  the  ducts  in  the  process  of  their  construction.  The  total  area 
and  diameter  of  the  ducts  must  be  calculated  in  relation  to  the 
strength  and  velocity  of  the  fans  and  to  the  work  to  be  performed. 
As  a  rule,  ducts  are  too  narrow  and  the  high  resistance  of  air  there- 
fore increases  the  difficulty  of  the  work  of  the  fans  and  results  either 
in  too  high  a  cost  of  ventilation  or  in  an  inadequate  supply  of  air. 


Courtesy  American  Blower  Co..  Detroit. 

Double  Inlet  "Sirocco"  Fan.     Full  Housed,  Right  Hand  Top  Horizontal 
Discharge.     Pulley  Drive.     Inlet  Side. 

The  long  distances  which  ducts  are  run  and  the  bends,  some  of  them 
at  right  angle,  contribute  largely  to  the  nullification  of  the  efficiency 
of  the  ventilating  system. 

"The  Sirocco  fan  (see  illustrations)  is  a  centrifugal  fan  comprised 
of  a  wheel  constructed  with  numerous  thin,  elongated  blades 
arranged  in  drum  form.  These  blades  are  extended  in  an  axial 
direction,  so  as  to  enclose  within  them  a  relatively  large  and  unob- 
structed intake-chamber,  and  in  transverse  section  arranged, 
relatively  to  the  axis  and  direction  of  rotation,  to  carry  the  fluid 


382  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

with  them  relatively  and  discharge  it  tangentially.  The  fan  has 
sixty-four  blades.  This  multiplicity  of  blades  reduces  the  space 
for  resulting  eddy  currents  to  a  minimum,  and,  the  blades  being 
very  narrow,  there  is  no  opportunity  for  a  great  difference  in  velocity 
due  to  their  radial  depth.  Further,  the  blades  being  concave,  with 
the  inner  edge  practically  perpendicular  to  the  direction  of  the  flow 
into  the  space  between  the  blades,  the  outer  edge  presents  a  very 
much  narrower  space  than  the  inner  edge,  resulting  in  the  velocity 
of  the  air  being  increased  as  it  passes  between  the  blades,  instead 
of  being  reduced  as  in  the  old  steel-plate  type.  This  fan  also  per- 
mits the  use  of  a  very  large  air-inlet." 


Courtesy  American  Blower  Co.,  Detroit. 

Steel  Pressure  Blower  in  Foundry. 

In  the  vacuum  methods  of  ventilation  which  are  used  for  dust 
extraction  special  dust-separators,  usually  of  the  "  cyclone  "  type, 
are  provided  where  the  dust  is  extracted,  settled  and  collected, 
so  that  the  air  which  is  afterwards  let  out  is  free  from  dust.  The 
ducts  lead  to  the  roof  where  the  cyclone  dust-separators  are  placed, 
although  a  downward  direction  of  the  ducts  is  also  used  when  the 
dust-collection  is  done  in  the  basement  or  cellar.  At  times,  the 
dust,  if  of  a  combustible  kind,  may  be  directed  into  the  furnace 
and  utilized  for  heating  purposes. 

In  the  plenum  system  of  ventilation  the  incoming  air  cannot 
always  be  admitted  without  being  purified  and  modified  in  tem- 
perature and  humidity.  With  present  mechanical  progress  it  is 
possible  at  not  too  high  a  cost  to  modify  the  temperature  of  the  incom- 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES 


383 


ing  air,  to  regulate  its  humidity,  and  purify  it  by  filtering    and 
washing. 

There  are  objections  against  a  combination  of  heating  and 
ventilating  plants,  especially  against  the  method  of  hot-air  supply 
by  furnaces,  the  objec- 
tions being  that  the  air 
supplied  is  usually  too 
hot,  sometimes  burnt, 
often  contains  much 
dust  and  other  impur- 
ities. It  is  claimed, 
therefore,  that  it  is  best 
to  separate  the  heating 
and  ventilating  plants 
and  have  a  separate  sys- 
tem for  each  purpose. 

The  methods  of  mod- 
ifying the  temperature 
of  the  air  coming  in  through  ducts  differ.  There  are  devices  to 
cool  the  air  as  well  as  to  heat  it.  In  raising  the  temperature  of  the 
incoming  air,  care  must  be  taken  not  to  raise  it  too  high.  In  winter 
the  air  must  come  in  above  a  temperature  of  60°  F.,  and  in  summer 
it,  should  be  as  cool  as  possible. 

There  are  a  number  of  devices  for  the  cleaning  of  air  by  filter- 
ing or  washing.  The  fil- 
tering media  are  meshed 
materials  intended  to 
catch  the  dust  particles  in 
the  air.  The  filtering 
process  increases  the  re- 
sistance to  the  inflow  of 
air,  this  resistance  increas- 
ing with  the  closeness  of 
the  meshes  of  the  filtering 


Courtesy  American  Blower-  Co.,  Detroit. 

Disk  Fan  in  Laundry. 


Courtesy  American  Blower  Co.,  Detroit. 

Disk  Fan  in  Engine  Room. 


material. 


The   washing  of  air  is 
accomplished   by    having 

the  air  pass  horizontally  through  a  closed  chamber  which  the  water 
enters  in  the  form  of  raindrops,  sprays,  or  a  water-curtain.  The 
water  comes  through  perforations,  or  through  a  number  of  sprinklers, 
which  form  sprays  and  bring  the  air  and  water  into  intimate  contact 


384  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

and  clean  the  air  of  all  suspended  matter.  Besides  cleaning  the  air, 
this  process  of  washing  also  cools  it.  The  same  water  may  be  recir- 
culated  and  used  over  again. 

There  are  a  number  of  patent  air-washers,  all  of  them  more 
or  less  efficient,  according  to  their  method  of  use.'  It  has  been 
found  that  the  water  coming  from  the  air-washers  after  washing  a 
large  volume  of  street  air,  has  the  appearance  of  sewage,  and  does 
not  differ  very  much  from  it  in  composition. 

[Artificial  humidification  of  air  is  claimed  to  be  necessary  in 
certain  textile  processes,  although  this  necessity  is  denied  by  some. 
The  humidification  is  accomplished  by  sprays  and  special  steam 
humidifiers. 

The  art  of  industrial  mechanical  ventilation  is  as  yet  in  its 
infancy,  owing  to  the  fact  that  comparatively  few  of  the  factories 
in  the  country  deem  it  necessary  to  install  mechanical  ventilating 
plants.  As  the  legal  standards  of  ventilation  increase,  and  industrial 
efficiency  comes  into  wider  practice,  there  is  no  doubt  that  most, 
if  not  all,  of  the  larger  industrial  establishments  in  the  country 
will  be  compelled  to  install  efficient  mechanical  ventilating  plants, 
and  by  that  time  the  science  and  art  of  the  mechanical  ventilating 
engineer  will  be  ready  for  practice. 

IV 
EXAMINATION  AND  TESTING  OF  AIR 

Legal  and  other  standards  for  ventilation  prescribed  in  industrial 
codes,  and  the  frequent  investigations  of  air  conditions  in  industrial 
establishments,  make  necessary  a  standardization  of  methods  of 
testing  air.  The  tests  usually  made  are  those  for  temperature, 
humidity,  C02  contents,  for  presence  of  dust,  bacteria,  and  dele- 
terious gases,  poisons,  etc. 

The  temperature  is  tested  by  the  ordinary  thermometer,  the 
Fahrenheit  instrument  being  used  in  this  country.  Special  thermo- 
graphs are  often  used  for  automatic  recording  of  the  temperature 
of  rooms,  in  order  to  have  a  complete  record  of  the  variations  in 
the  temperature  in  the  room  during  a  certain  period  or  at  all  times. 

The  relative  humidity  of  the  air  of  a  room  is  measured  by  a  num- 
ber of  instruments  called  hygrometers,  psychrophores,  etc.  The 
instruments  which  are  based  upon  the  hygroscopic  qualities  of  air 
are  not  very  accurate,  and  practically  the  only  instrument  used  for 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES 


385 


testing  the  humidity  of  a  room   is  the  sling  thermometer.     The 

instrument  consists  of  two  Fahrenheit  thermometers  fastened  to  an 

aluminum  back,  one  of  which  extends  beyond  the  aluminum  case 

for  two  inches.     Around  the  bulb  of  this  thermometer  is  fastened 

a  thin  piece  of  silk  cloth  which 

when  ready  for  use  is  soaked  in      r  , 

distilled    water.      This    is    called 

the    wet-bulb    thermometer.      A 

handle   is  fastened   to  the  upper 

end  of  the  aluminum   by   means 

of     which    the    psychrometer    is 

swung  when  making   a  test.     A 

copper  case  is  made  to  surround 

the  instrument  as  a  protection  to 

the     thermometer   when    not 


in 


use. 


The  test  for  humidity  is  made 
by  dipping  the  wet  bulb  in  water 
and  swinging  the  instrument  sev- 
eral times,  to  prevent  the  for- 
mation of  a  saturated  area  around 
the  bulb.  Care  .  must  be  taken 
not  to  wet  the  dry  bulb.* 

The  instrument  of  which  an 
illustration  is  given  on  this  page 
was  the  one  used  by  Professors 
Winslow  and  Baskerville.  It  is 
long,  measuring  about  16  inches. 
In  using  this  instrument  I  have 
often  found  that  one  or  the  other 
thermometer  easily  breaks,  and 
therefore  the  use  of  the  instrument 
becomes  costly.  A  similar  instru- 
ment which  I  saw  being  used  by 

the  Illinois  Factory  Inspection  Department  is  much  shorter,  being 
about  4  or  5  inches  long,  and  is  said  to  do  the  same  work  without 
being  put  out  of  order  so  often. 

Dr.  J.  W.  Schereschewsky,  of  the  United  States  Public  Health 
Service,  uses  the  same  dry-  and  wet-bulb  thermometer  fixed  in  a  port- 
able box,  in  which  are  enclosed  dry  batteries  working  a  small  motor 

*  Winslow  and  Baskerville:  Report  on  School  Ventilation. 


J 


Tycos. 


Sling  Psychrometer. 


386  THE  MODERN  FACTOEY 

operating  a  blower  upon  the  wet  bulb,  obviating  the  necessity 
of  swinging  the  instrument.  This  box,  however,  is  rather  heavy, 
and  is  not  convenient  for  carrying  around. 

The  wet-bulb  thermometer  is  constructed  on  the  theory  that  as 
the  air  in  the  room  approaches  the  wet  bulb  it  absorbs  from  the 
wet  bulb  sufficient  moisture  to  raise  its  humidity  to  saturation  point, 
at  the  same  time  it  loses  sufficient  heat  to  cool  it  down  to  the  tem- 
perature of  the  wet  bulb.  Hence,  the  quantity  of  heat  lost  by  the 
air  will  be  equal  to  the  quantity  of  heat  necessary  to  convert  into 
steam  a  quantity  of  water  sufficient  to  saturate  that  air.  From  this 
we  get  an  equation  establishing  a  relation  between  the  difference  of 
temperature  of  the  wet  and  dry  bulbs  and  the  proportion  of  humidity 
in  the  air.* 

The  relative  humidity  of  the  air  is  calculated  according  to 
Glaisher's  table,  which  gives  the  grains  of  moisture  in  the  air  and 
the  percentage  of  relative  humidity  according  to  the  difference 
between  the  dry-  and  wet-bulb  thermometer.  The  following 
humidity  table,  which  was  established  by  the  Departmental  Com- 
mittee on  Humidity  and  Ventilation  in  Cotton-Weaving  Sheds, 
gives  the  limits  of  temperature  and  the  maximum  limits  of  humidity 
in  the  atmosphere  permitted  in  cotton-cloth  factories  during  the 
introduction  of  humidity  by  artificial  means,  and  shows  also  the 
relative  humidity  based  upon  the  difference  between  the  dry-  and 
wet-bulb  thermometers.  (See  next  page.) 

Carbonic  Acid.  Pettenkoffer  and  his  followers  insisted  so  much 
upon  the  great  importance  of  the  CO2  contents  in  the  air  that  for 
many  years  the  CO2  test  of  air  was  the  one  most  frequently  used. 
A  whole  literature  has  been  created  on  the  subject  and  many  ingenious 
tests  have  been  devised  for  the  examination  of  air  for  C02.  Of  the 
large  number  of  tests  which  are  used,  only  a  few  may  be  mentioned 
here,  and  only  the  one  which  is  ordinarily  used  in  this  country  will  be 
described  in  greater  detail. 

Pettenkoffer's  Test.  Barium  hydrate  mixed  with  carbonic  acid 
produces,  besides  water,  an  insoluble  salt — barium  carbonate.  If 
we  then  mix  a  known  amount  of  barium  hydrate  in  solution  with  a 
knx)wn  amount  of  air,  part  of  the  barium  hydrate  will  go  to  form  the 
barium  carbonate  with  the  carbonic  acid  in  the  air  and  part  will 
be  left  undissolved.  We  can  then  calculate  the  difference  in  the 
amount  of  the  barium  hydrate  in  the  solution  before  its  mixture 
with  the  air  and  after,  which  difference  will  indicate  the  amount 

*  Departmental  Committee  on  Humidity  and  Ventilation,  p.  30. 


AIE  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES 


387 


HUMIDITY  TABLE 

LIMITS  OF  TEMPERATURE  AND  MAXIMUM  LIMITS  OF  HUMIDITY  OF  ATMOSPHERE 
PERMITTED  IN  COTTON-CLOTH  FACTORIES  DURING  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF 
HUMIDITY  BY  ARTIFICIAL  MEANS 


Grains  of  Vapor  Per 
Cubic  Foot  of  Air. 

Readings  of  Thermometers,  in  Degrees 
Fahrenheit. 

Percentage  of  Humid- 
ity (Saturation  =  100)  . 

Dry  Bulb. 

Wet  Bulb. 

3.5 

50 

48 

86 

3.6 

51 

49 

86 

3.8 

52 

50 

86 

3.9 

53 

51 

86 

4.1 

54 

52 

86 

4.2 

55 

53 

87 

4.4 

56 

54 

87 

4.5 

57 

55 

87 

4.7 

58 

56 

87 

4.9 

59 

57 

88 

5.1 

60 

58 

88 

5.2 

61 

59 

88 

5.4 

62 

60 

88 

5.6 

63 

61 

88 

5.8 

64 

62 

88 

6.0 

65 

63 

88 

6.2 

;    ee 

64 

88 

6.4 

67 

65 

88 

6.6 

68 

66 

88 

6.9 

69 

67 

88 

7.1 

70 

68 

88 

7.1 

71 

68.5 

85.5 

7.1 

72 

69 

84 

7.4 

73 

70 

84 

7.4 

74 

70.5 

81.5 

7.65 

75 

71.5 

81.5 

7.7 

76 

72 

79 

8.0 

77 

73 

79 

8.0 

78 

73.5 

77 

8.25  (etc.) 

79  (etc.) 

74.5  (etc.) 

77.5  (etc.) 

of  carbonic  acid  in  the  examined  air.  The  amount  of  barium  hydrate 
is  determined  by  a  standard  solution  of  oxalic  acid.  The  tests  must 
be  made  at  a  temperature  of  32°  F.  and  barometric  pressure  from 
30  inches  of  mercury,  or  corrections  must  be  made  as  to  this  tem- 
perature and  barometric  pressure.  The  test  is  very  complicated, 
and  requires  special  apparatus  and  great  skill. 

W olpert's  Test.      In  this  test  a  solution  of  carbonate  of  soda 
colored  red  by  phenolphthalein  is  used  to  mix  with  a  given  volume 


388  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

of  air  to  be  examined.  When  mixed  with  the  examined  air,  part  of 
the  carbonate  of  soda  unites  with  the  carbonic  acid  and  forms 
bicarbonate  of  soda,  thus  lessening  the  alkalinity  and  also  the  red 
color  of  the  solution.  The  more  carbonic  acid  in  the  examined  air 
the  quicker  the  disappearance  of  the  red  color.  The  apparatus 
is  furnished  with  a  scale  so  that  the  approximate  amount  of  carbonic 
acid  is  determined. 

Lunge-Zeckendorf  Test.  A  very  small  portable  and  convenient 
apparatus  is  that  which  bears  the  name  of  Lunge-Zeckendorf,  and 
which  is  very  widely  used  in  Germany  and  Switzerland.  Professor 
Roth  of  Zurich  tells  me  that  he  has  made  thousands  of  tests  in 
factories  with  this  instrument  and,  as  a  rule,  found  it  accurate  and 
very  convenient. 

This  test  is  based  upon  the  same  principle  as  that  of  Wolpert's: 
the  discoloration  of  an  alkaline  solution  colored  by  phenolphthalein 
by  carbonic  acid  in  air.  The  instrument  consists  of  a  jar  in  which 
is  inserted  a  glass  tube  attached  by  a  rubber  pipe  to  a  rubber  bulb 
of  a  standard  capacity.  The  jar  or  flask  is  filled  with  a  normal 
solution  of  one-tenth  per  cent  of  bicarbonate  of  soda  colored  with 
phenolphthalein.  The  test  is  based  upon  the  fact  that  with  every 
pressing  of  the  rubber  bulb  air  is  introduced  from  the  outside  and 
the  CO2  in  the  air  when  in  a  sufficient  quantity  lessens  the  alkalinity 
of  the  solution  and  discolors  the  phenolphthalein.  The  greater  the 
contents  of  the  C(>2  in  the  air  the  less  times  it  is  necessary  to  press 
the  bulb  in  order  to  discolor  the  contents.  The  capacity  of  the 
bulb,  etc.,  is  so  arranged  that  with  a  four-per-ten-thousand  volumes 
of  C02  contents  in  the  air  it  is  necessary  to  press  the  bulb  35  times. 
It  takes  only  27  times  to  discolor  the  solution  with  a  five-per-ten- 
thousand  CO2  contents,  21  with  a  six-per-ten-thousand  C02  con- 
tents, 17  with  a  seven-per-ten-thousand  C02  contents,  13  with  an 
eight-per-ten-thousand  C02  contents,  10  with  a  nine-per-ten-thou- 
sand,  C02  contents,  and  only  9  pressings  of  the  bulb  for  a  one  to  a 
thousand,  etc.  This  test  has  the  disadvantage  that  it  is  only  appli- 
cable where  there  is  considerable  CO2  contents  in  the  air. 

The  Peterson  and  Palmquist  Test.  This  test  has  been  used 
for  some  time  by  the  Labor  Department  of  New  York  State,  and  was 
also  employed  by  Professors  Winslow  and  Baskerville  in  their  inves- 
tigations of  ventilation  in  the  public  schools  of  New  York  City. 
The  instrument  (see  illustration  on  next  page)  has  been  modified 
somewhat  by  Professors  Winslow  and  Baskerville,  and  consists  of 
the  following  parts: 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES  389 

A  25  cc.  pipette,  graduated  on  its  lower  branch,  is  divided  at 
the  top  at  right  angles  into  three  branches.  One  is  the  air-intake, 
another  leads  to  the  KOH  reservoir,  and  the  third,  which  is  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  pipette  stem,  opens  into  the  horizontal  gauge  at  the 
top  of  the  instrument.  Each  branch  may  be  opened  or  closed  by 
stop-cocks.  The  gauge  or  tube  holding  the  meniscus  of  red  kerosene 
is  bent  up  at  both  ends  and  provided  with  stop-cocks.  As  stated 


Front  View  Back  View 

Courtesy  Profs.  Wlnslow  and  Baskervsiie. 

Peterson-Palmquist  Apparatus  Used    by  Profs.  C.-E.  A.   Winslow  and  Ch. 

Baskerville. 

above,  one  branch  of  the  pipette  opens  into  one  end  of  the  gauge 
below  the  stop-cock.  Similarly,  at  the  other  end  there  enters  a 
tube  from  a  closed  vessel  which  acts  as  an  equalizing  chamber. 
The  pipette,  equalizing  vessel,  and  KOH  reservoir  are  immersed  in 
the  water  held  in  a  glass  jar.  Into  this  runs  a  glass  tube  through 
which  "air  is  forced  by  means  of  a  rubber  bulb  connected  with  it 
at  the  upper  end.  The  lower  branch  of  the  pipette  runs  down  the 
center  of  a  1-inch  glass  tube  connected  with  the  water- jar  and  com- 
municates with  the  mercury  reservoir  by  means  of  rubber  tubing. 


390  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

A  stop-cock  and  a  pressure  screw  are  in  this  circuit.  The  whole 
apparatus  is  mounted  on  a  wooden  stand. 

N.  B. — 50  per  cent  KOH  (Potassium  Hydroxide)  is  used. 

The  instrument  is  used  as  follows: 

Assuming  that  all  stop-cocks  are  closed,  except  the  one  on  the 
branch  from  the  meniscus  tube  to  the  equalizing  chamber,  open  that 
one  on  the  meniscus  tube  which  is  near  the  tube  leading  to  the  equaliz- 
ing chamber.  Next  open  the  corresponding  cock  on  the  other  end. 
The  meniscus  may  now  be  moved  to  any  desired  position  on  the  scale 
by  simply  tipping  the  apparatus.  Close  both  stop-cocks.  Open  the 
air-intake.  Lower  the  mercury  reservoir  slowly  until  the  top  of  the 
mercury  column  is  at  zero.  Close  the  stop-cock  which  regulates 
the  flow  of  mercury.  Close  the  air-intake.  Open  the  stop-cock 
on  the  vertical  branch  of  the  pipette.  Force  air  through  the  water 
by  means  of  the  rubber  bulb  until  the  meniscus  comes  to  rest. 
Record  the  reading.  Close  the  stop-cock  on  the  vertical  branch 
of  the  pipette.  Open  the  stop-cock  to  the  KOH  reservoir.  Open 
the  cock  from  the  mercury  reservoir  and  allow  the  pipette  to  fill. 
Let  the  mercury  flow  back  into  its  reservoir  until  the  level  of  the 
KOH  is  at  the  point  shown  on  the  KOH  reservoir.  Close  the  stop- 
cock from  the  mercury  reservoir.  Close  the  stop-cock  to  the  KOH 
reservoir.  Open  the  stop-cock  on  the  vertical  branch  of  the  pipette. 
Bubble  air  through  the  water  until  the  meniscus  comes  to  rest. 
By  means  of  the  pressure -screw  force  the  mercury  up  into  the 
pipette  until  the  meniscus  is  at  its  former  reading.  Read  the  level 
of  the  mercury  on  the  lower  branch  of  the  pipette.  The  result  is 
the  number  of  parts  of  C02  per  10,000. 

The  following  precautions  must  be  taken  while  using  this 
instrument : 

(1)  Never  close  the  stop-cock  on  the  tube  leading  from  the 
equalizing  chamber  to  the  meniscus  tube. 

(2)  Always  open  the  stop-cock  on  the  meniscus  tube,  which 
is  near  the  tube  leading  from  the  equalizing  chamber  before  opening 
the  corresponding  one  on  the  other  side. 

(3)  Never  leave  the  stop-cock  controlling  the  flow  of  mercury  and 
the  one  in  the  vertical  branch  of  the  pipette  open  at  the  sarne  time. 

(4)  Care  should  always  be  taken  when  the  stop-cock  to  the 
KOH  reservoir  is  open,  not  to  force  the  mercury  over  into  the  KOH 
or  suck  the  KOH  over  into  the  mercury. 

(5)  The  operator  should  take  care  not  to  breathe  into  the  air- 
intake  or  allow  others  to  do  so. 


AIR  AND  VENTILATION  IN  FACTORIES 


391 


Courtesy  Profs.  Winslow  and  Baskervllle. 

Wallace  and  Tiernan  Pump  Used  by  Professors  C.-E.  A.  Winslow  and  Ch. 
Baskerville  in  Collecting  Samples  for  Enumeration  of  Dust  and  Bacteria  in 
the  Air  of  Schools. 


CHAPTER  IX 
INDUSTRIAL   DUSTS   AND   DUSTY  TRADES 

I 
DUST  AND  ITS  EFFECT  ON  HEALTH 

Extent  and  Character  of  Industrial  Dusts.  Dust  consists  of 
fine  particles  of  matter.  It  is  ubiquitous.  There  is  no  air  which 
is  free  from  it.  There  is  no  place  where  it  is  not  present. 

Ordinary  air  counts  its  dust  particles  by  the  thousands  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  per  cubic  foot.  At  the  fifty-seventh  story 
in  the  air  outsicb  of  the  Woolworth  Building,  27,000  dust  particles 
were  counted  in  a  cubic  foot;  at  the  thirtieth  story,  70,000;  at 
the  tenth  story,  85,000;  and  at  the  street  level  221,000.  Even  on 
the  top  of  the  Rigi,  Aitken  counted  dust  particles  from  210  to  over 
2000  per  cubic  centimeter.  On  the  Eiffel  Tower  the  number  varied 
from  226  to  104,000  per  cubic  centimeter.  Nor  is  the  air  over  the 
sea  free  from  particles  of  dust.  Mr.  E.  D.  Friedlander  found  2000 
to  4000  particles  per  cubic  centimeter  in  the  air  over  some  parts  of 
the  Western  Atlantic;  280  to  2125  per  cubic  centimeter  over  the 
Pacific  Ocean;  and  875  to  2500  over  the  Mediterranean.* 

The  extent  of  dust  is  still  greater  in  the  air  of  rooms.  Aitken 
found  275,000  particles  of  dust  in  a  meeting-room  at  Edinburgh, 
and  3,000,000  to  3,500,000  some  time  after  the  meeting  was  over. 
In  another  room  he  found  as  many  as  5,420,000  particles. f 

Dust  in  air  comes  from  the  pulverized  particles  of  matter,  from 
various  materials  and  processes.  Numerous  as  are  the  particles 
of  dust  in  outside  air,  and  in  the  air  of  ordinary  rooms,  they  are  still 
more  numerous  in  the  air  of  factories  and  workshops.  During  the 
processes  of  industry,  clouds  of  dust,  invisible  and  visible,  are  given 
off  and  fill  the  air  of  the  establishment. 


*  R.  C.  Macfie:   Air  and  Health,  p.  164. 
t  Ibid. 


392 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES 


393 


Hesse,  Arens,  Rogers,  and  others  have  made  determinations  of 
dust  particles  in  industrial  establishments,  and  have  found  the  con- 
tents are  very  large.  According  to  Hesse,  a  person  working  ten 
hours  a  day  would  inhale  the  following  amounts  of  dust  in  grams.* 

Horse-hair  Works 0.05  grams  per  day;  15  grams  per  year  (300  days). 

Saw  Mills 0.09  grams  per  day;  27  grams  per  year. 

Wool  Mills 0.10  grams  per  day;  30  grams  per  year. 

Flour  Mills. 0.12  grams  per  day;  36  grams  per  year. 

Iron  Foundries 0.14  grams  per  day;  42  grams  per  year. 

Snuff-tobacco  WTorks 0.36  grams  per  day;  108  grams  per  year. 

Cement  Works 1.12  grams  per  day;  336  grams  per  year. 


Courtesy  Profs.  Winsiow  and  Baskerville. 
Lighter  Particles  Floating  on  Surface.  Heavier  Particles  Settling  to  Bottom. 

Dust  Particles  as  Seen  Under  the  Microscope.     50  times  natural  size. 

According  to  Arens,  there  were  in  cement-making  works  130 
milligrams  of  dust  in  one  cubic  meter  of  air  when  work  was  not 
being  done,  and  244  milligrams  during  work.  He  also  found  175 
milligrams  of  dust  in  one  cubic  meter  of  the  air  in  a  felt-shoe  factory. f 

Rogers  found  on  an  analysis  of  samples  of  air,  secured  in  shops 
where  skirts  are  made,  70  grams  of  dust  per  million  litres  of  air; 
and  as  much  in  pearl-button  factories.  Samples  of  air  secured  in  a 
brass  foundry  showed  75.2  grams  per  million  litres  of  air.f 

These  figures,  gathered  from  analyses  by  scientists,  'are  inter- 
esting in  showing  the  amount  of  dust  in  the  air  of  industrial  estab- 
lishments and  the  extent  of  dust  production  in  factories  and  work- 
shops. But  to  one  who  goes  through  factories  in  different  industries 

*  "Rambousek:    "  Luftverunreinigung  und  Ventilation,"  p.  103. 

t  Ibid. 

J  Report  of  New  York  State  Department  of  Labor. 


394 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


day  by  day,  these  figures  are  unnecessary,  as  one  cannot  help  but 
see  in  almost  every  industrial  establishment  clouds  of  dust  in  which 
the  workers  are  employed,  and  which  are  produced  by  the  materials 
and  processes  of  the  industry.  In  cotton  and  other  textile  mills, 
in  carding-rooms  and  preparing-rooms,  in  the  sorting  and  manu- 
facturing of  shoddy,  rags,  and  similar  waste  products,  in  the  manu- 
facture of  all  kinds  of  clothing,  in  the  milling  of  flour,  in  the  grinding 
of  stones,  in  the  production  of  minerals,  in  the  polishing  and  buffing 
of  metals,  etc.,  no  count  of  dust  particles  is  needed  to  convince 
every  observer  of  the  large  amount  found  in  the  air  of  the  work- 
shops, which  is  inhaled  hourly  and  daily  by  the  workers.  In  coal, 


Silk. 


Hemp. 


metal  and  mineral  mining,  in  the  manufacture  of  carborundum, 
graphite,  carbide,  and  other  materials,  the  dust  in  the  air  where 
workers  are  employed  is  so  thick  that  one  is  hardly  able  to  see  through 
the  mists  and  clouds  of  the  rising  and  floating  dust  particles. 

Dust  is  classified  by  its  sources,  by  its  physical  qualities,  shape, 
size,  etc.,  and  by  its  chemical  characteristics. 

As  to  the  sources,  dust  is  classified  in  four  large  groups — metal, 
mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal. 

Dust  varies  in  size  and  shape,  from  the  finest,  which  has  very 
penetrating  qualities,  to  the  coarsest;  and  from  dust  which  is 
smooth  and  has  all  its  edges  rounded,  to  dust  which  has  very  sharp 
edges. 

Chemically,  dust  is  divided  into  organic  and  inorganic,  soluble 
and  insoluble. 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES 


395 


Hoffman  gives  a  rough  classification  of  forty-two  industries 
according  to  the  sources  of  their  dusts.*  These  groups,  of  course, 
do  not  embrace  all  dusty  industries.  They  are  as  follows: 

Group  1 :  Exposure  to  metallic  dust:    Group  2 :  Exposure  to  mineral  dust: 

(1)  Grinders  (11) 

(2)  Polishers.  (12) 

(3)  Tool- and  instrument-makers.  (13) 


(4)  Jewelers. 

(5)  Gold-leaf  manufacture. 

(6)  Brass-workers. 

(7)  Printers. 

(8)  Compositors. 

(9)  Pressmen. 
(10)  Engravers. 


Stone- workers. 

Marble-workers. 

Glass-blowers. 

(14)  Glass-cutters. 

(15)  Diamond-cutters. 

(16)  Potters. 

(17)  Cement-workers. 

(18)  Plasterers. 

(19)  Paper-hangers. 

(20)  Holders. 

(21)  Core-makers. 

(22)  Lithographers. 


Jute 


Flax 


Group  3:  Exposure  to  vegetable  fiber  dust: 

(23)  Cotton-ginning.  (30)  Hemp  and   cordage  manu- 

(24)  Cotton  textile  manufacture.  facture. 

(25)  Spinners.  (31)  Manufacture   of    jute    and 

(26)  Weavers.  jute  goods. 

(27)  Hosiery-  and  knitting-mills.  (32)  Paper  manufacture. 

(28)  Lace-making.  (33)  Cabinet-makers. 

(29)  Flax  and  linen  manufacture.  (34)  Wood-turners  and  carvers. 


*  United  States  Department  of  Labor,  Bulletin  No.  79. 
Dusty  Trades. 


Mortality  from  Consumption  in 


396 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Group  4:  Exposure  to  animal  and  mixed  fiber  dust: 


(35)  Furriers  and  taxidermists. 

(36)  Hatters. 

(37)  Silk  manufacture. 

(38)  Woolen  and  worsted  manu- 

facture. 


(39)  Carpet   and   rug  manufac- 

ture. 

(40)  Shoddy  manufacture. 

(41)  Rag  industry. 

(42)  Upholstery    and    hair-mat- 

tress-makers. 


To  these  may  be  added,  in  the  metal  group,  miners  of  and 
workers  in  metals;  to  the  mineral  group  may  be  added  coal-miners, 
coal-heavers,  stokers,  carborundum,  graphite,  carbide,  and  other 
workers;  and  a  number  of  others  to  these  and  other  groups. 

The  size,  shape  and  appearance  of  the  dust  particles  differ  accord- 


Cotton. 


Wheat  Dust. 


ing  to  their  sources.  The  microphotographs  presented  in  the 
illustrations  are  by  Dr.  F.  Migerka  of  Vienna  and  are  reproduced 
from  his  book  on  "  The  Kinds  of  Dust  in  Industrial  Establishments/' 
published  by  the  Museum  of  Industrial  Hygiene  in  Vienna. 

Effect  of  Industrial  Dusts  upon  Workers.  The  baneful  effects 
of  industrial  dust  and  its  relations  to  occupational  disease  was 
recognized  even  before  Ramazzini.  From  Ramazzini  to  the  present 
day  all  authorities  agree  that  prolonged  inhalations  of  large  quan- 
tities of  dust  or  continuous  sojourn  in  a  dusty  atmosphere  is  harm- 
ful to  health  and  causes  certain  diseases. 

"  Few,  indeed,"  says  Arlidge,  "  are  the  occupations  in  which 
dust  is  not  given  off.  In  none  can  it  be  absolutely  harmless.  Its 
disabling  action  is  very  slow,  but  is  ever  progressive,  and  until  it 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  397 

has  already  worked  its  baneful  results  upon  the  smaller  bronchial 
tubes  and  air-cells,  and  caused  difficulty  of  breathing  with  cough- 
ing and  spitting,  it  is  let  pass  as  a  matter  of  indifference  and 
inconvenience  of  the  trade."*  Arlidge  shows  how  bronchitis,  asthma, 
and  tubercular  and  fibroid  consumption  are  due  to  dust  inhalations, 
and  concludes  that  persons  predisposed  to  respiratory  diseases  and 
phthisis  ought  not  to  engage  in  dusty  occupations. 

Sir  Thomas  Oliver  begins  his  article  on  dust  in  his  "  Diseases 
of  Occupation  "  with  the  following  sentences:  "  Dust  is  the  enemy 
of  the  workman.  Much  ill  health  and  many  of  the  industrial  diseases 
are  caused  by  the  inhalation  of  dust  or  by  the  work-people  swallow- 
ing it  along  with  their  food."  In  another  placet  ne  says,  "  Were 
it  not  for  dust,  fumes  or  gas,  there  would  be  little  or  no  disease  due 
to  occupation,  except  such  as  might  be  caused  by  infection,  by 
breathing  of  air  poisoned  by  the  emanations  of  fellow-workers,  and 
exposure  to  cold  after  working  in  overheated  rooms." 

Professor  W.  Oilman  Thompson  says:  "  Although  dust  of  every 
kind  is  a  menace  to  health,  it  is  in  its  relationship  to  tuberculosis 
that  dust  in  general  produces  the  greatest  harm." 

Indeed,  the  general  consensus  of  opinion  of  all  authorities  on 
industrial  hygiene,  seems  to  be  unanimous  in  the  recdgnition  of  the 
harmful  effect  of  dust  upon  the  human  organism. 

Physiological  Defences  of  the  Body.  The  body  is  equipped  with 
physiological  d^fejasive^organs  that  render  harmless  ordinary  invasion 
of  mechanical,  chemical  or  bacterial  foes.  It  is  only  when  the  foes 
attacking  the  body  are  too  numerous  and  their  attack  unduly  pro- 
longed, or  when  the  body,  for  some  reason  or  other,  is  bereft  of  its 
normal  physiological  defensive  properties,  that  pathological  condi- 
tions ensue. 

The  physiological  defences  of  the  body  against  the  effects  of 
inhalation  of  dust  and  other  solid  impurities  in  the  air  consist  in 
the  mucous  lining  of  the  respiratory  passages:  the  nose,  mouth, 
throat,  and  bronchi,  and  in  the  hairs  which  are  abundant  in  the 
nasal  passages.  These  hairs  catch,  sift,  and  expel  a  large  quantity 
of  the  dust  which  is  inhaled  through  the  nose.  The  dust  coming 
in  through  the  respiratory  passages  adheres  to  the  mucous  mem- 
brane, and  by  the  action  of  the  ciliated  epithelia,  with  which  this 
mucous  membrane  is  lined,  the  dust  particles  adhering  to  the  moist 
membrane  are  removed,  If  the  dust  accumulates  in  larger  quan- 

*  J.  T.  Arlidge:  "  Hygiene,  Diseases  and  Mortality  of  Occupations,"  p.  244. 
t  Sir  Thomas  Oliver:  "  Dangerous  Trades." 


398 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


titles,  its  irritant  effects  upon  the  nerves  in  the  delicate  mucous 
membrane  cause  coughing  and  sneezing,  by  which  a  large  amount 
of  the  dust  with  mucous  fluid  is  discharged. 


Felt. 


Woodworking  Machine. 


Dr.  Gfrorer,  in  a  study  of  the  absorption  of  lead-dust  through 
the  respiratory  passages,  found  that  more  than  50  per  cent  of  the 
dust  inhaled  was  caught  in  the  nasal  passages.  The  mouth  showed 
a  maximum  of  only  15  per  cent  of  the  dust  inhaled.  The  lungs, 


Bonemeal. 


Horsehair. 


when  inhalation  is  through  nasal  passages,  get  about  38  per  cent 
of  the  dust.  When  inhalation  is  not  through  the  nose,  the  lungs 
absorb  about  80  per  cent.* 

*  Dr.  Gfrorer:   Inaugural  Dissertation:    "  Orientierende  Versuche  uber  quantitative  Staub- 
absorption  durch  den  Menschen  aus  staubreicher  Luft,"   Wurzburg,  1912,  p.  22. 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  399 

When  the  upper  respiratory  passages  are  intact  and  in  normal 
condition,  even  the  finest  dust  does  not  ordinarily  pass  very  far 
into  these  passages.  Heim  and  Hebert  show  in  their  study  of  the 
hygiene  of  the  plaster  of  Paris  industry  that  in  the  case  of  rabbits 
and  clogs  but  few  particles  of  that  fine  dust  pass  beyond  the  vocal 
chords.  Below  the  larynx,  the  moisture  of  the  air-passages  forms  a 
trap  for  dust,  which,  by  ciliary  action  is  then  removed.* 

Dr.  Collis  says  that  dust  must  pass  through  the  upper  air-pas- 
sages, escape  entanglement  in  the  bronchi,  and  finally  reach  the  alveoli 
of  the  lungs  before  it  reaches  a  situation  whence  it  can  be  carried 
into  the  substance  of  the  lungs.  In  ordinary  breathing,  aeration 
of  the  blood  is  carried  on  by  diffusion  of  the  gas  between  the  residual 
air  of  the  alveoli  and  the  inspired  air,  and  dust  particles  can  hardly 
be  carried  to  the  alveoli  by  such  diffusion.! 

As  long,  therefore,  as  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  upper  respira- 
tory passages  is  healthy,  not  much  harm  can  be  done  by  ordinary 
dust  inhalation,  even  in  dusty  factories  and  workshops;  but  if  the 
dust  inhalation  is  continued  for  a  long  period,  and  if  the  dust  comes 
in  very  large  quantities,  or  if,  because  of  catarrhs,  colds,  or  other 
disease,  the  respiratory  passages  become  diseased,  and  thereby 
denuded  of  their  healthy  mucous  membrane,  then,  the  defensive 
qualities  of  the  body  being  absent,  the  attacking  force  of  the  dust 
becomes  injurious  and  dangerous  to  health  by  producing  certain 
diseases. 

It  is  well  known  that  a  great  many  workers,  especially  those 
engaged  in  dusty  trades,  very  often  suffer  from  diseases  of  the  upper 
respiratory  passages. 

Dr.  Otto  Glogau,J  on  examining  a  number  of  workers  in  a  jute- 
rope  mill  and  in  artificial  flower  and  feather  shops,  came  to  the 
conclusion,  "  that  the  upper  respiratory  tract  is  undoubtedly  damaged 
by  the  dust  that  contains  minute  particles  of  feathers,  fur  and  cordage 
material;  that  the  nose  was  entirely  filled  with  dust,  while  in  others 
only  the  septum  or  the  turbinates  were  affected.  In  119  of  the  155 
workers  examined,  particles  of  working  material  were  found  in  the 
nose;  in  91  cases  such  particles  were  lodged  in  the  throat.  When 
minute  particles  of  dust  irritate  the  nasal  mucous  lining  for  any  length 
of  time,  the  respiratory  organs  within  the  nose,  the  so-called  tur- 
binates, are  damaged.  The  turbinates  consist  of  spongy  tissue; 

*  Quoted  by  E.   L.   Collis:   "  Effects  of   Dust  in  Producing  Diseases  of  the  Lungs."      A 
Lecture  before  the  17th  International  Congress  of  Medicine,  London,  1913,  p.  21. 
t  Ibid. 
t  Report  to  the  New  York  State  Factory  Commission,  Second  Report,  vol.  ii,  p.  537. 


400 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


their  function  is  to  filtrate,  warm  and  moisten  the  air.  The  path- 
ological changes  of  the  turbinates  brought  about  by  the  irritation 
of' the  workshop  dust  consist  of  hyperthrophies  or  degenerative 


Carpet. 


Celluloid. 


processes  with  either  the  formation  of  polypi  or  complete  atrophy. 
By  any  of  these  conditions  the  function  of  the  turbinates  is  inter- 
fered with  and  the  breathing  space  within  the  nose  is  reduced  to  a 
minimum.  A  chronic  inflammation  of  the  mucuous  lining  of  the 


Horn. 


Mother  of  Pearl. 


nose,  rhinitis,  was  noticed  in  128  cases,  and  a  chronic  inflammation 
of  the  mucous  lining  of  the  throat,  pharyngitis,  was  detected  in 
115  cases." 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  401 

Workers  are  also  subject  to  frequent  colds,  because  of  excessive 
heat  and  the  sudden  changes  from  high  to  low  temperatures  which 
are  followed  by  bronchial  catarrh.  Diseases  of  the  respiratory 
passages,  so  frequent  among  workers,  break  down  the  defensive  physi- 
ological forces  of  the  body  and  render  the  workmen  a  prey  to  the 
effects  of  industrial  dust. 

Arnold  experimented  on  animals  by  placing  them  in  atmospheres 
filled  with  smoke,  ultramarine,  and  sandstone  dust.  Smoke,  which 
is  pure  coal  dust,  was  found  to  reach  the  lung  easily,  and  was  found 
not  only  in  the  bronchi  but  also  in  the  alveoli  and  lung-cells.  The 
same  was  true  of  ultramarine  and  fine  sandstone  dust.* 


Lead.  Cast-iron  Polishing. 

Anyone  who  has  visited  the  museums  of  safety  in  European 
capitals,  or  the  anatomical  museums  and  exhibitions  in  this  country, 
may  see  for  himself  the  effect  of  dust-inhalation  upon  the  lungs  of 
the  workers.  There  he  will  see  before  him  specimens  of  the  coal- 
miner's  lung,  black  with  coal  dust,  the  lungs  of  the  stone-cutter,  and 
of  other  workers,  showing  distinctly  the  amount  of  the  dust  lodged 
within  the  parynchema  of  the  lung,  which  dust  remains  there  until 
death. 

Not  all  dusts  have  the  same  effects,  nor  are  all  dusts  equally 
harmful.  The  effect  of  dusts  depends  upon  the  size,  shape  and 
mechanical  action  of  their  particles,  upon  their  chemical  character 
and  their  toxicity. 

Outside  of  poisonous  dusts,  those  containing  silica  are  said  to 

*  Dr.  Ascher:  "  Dammer's  Handbuch  der  Arbeiter  Wohlfahrt,"  p.  410. 


402 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


be  the  most  harmful.  Dust  particles  of  large  size  with  sharp  and 
cutting  edges  are  harmful  because  of  the  scratches  and  wounds  which 
they  make  in  the  delicate  mucous  lining  of  the  respiratory  mem- 
branes, thereby  opening  the  way  for  infectious  bacteria.  Dusts 
of  metallic  or  mineral  origin  have  different  effects  than  dusts  of 
organic,  vegetable,  or  animal  origin.  Dust  may  act  as  a  mechanical 
irritant  and  thus  produce  harmful  effects,  especially  dust  of  emery, 
glass,  granite,  gritstone,  etc. 

The  chemical  character  of  dust  has  an  important  bearing  upon 
its  influence  and  effect.  Certain  dusts  which  are  soluble  and  non- 
toxic  may  be  innocuous;  other  dusts  may  either  act  as  irritants  or 


liWr^fj 

JSagi  -Jf  *£ 

fi?^ 

Needle  Polishing. 


Brass  Polishing. 


may  injure  the  body  by  their  toxic  character.  A  great  many  dusts 
come  from  poisonous  materials.  Reference  has  been  made  to  the 
large  inhalation  of  dust  in  lead  trades  and  in  all  dangerous  trades 
where  poisonous  materials  are  employed.  These  poisonous  dusts 
may  be  either  absorbed,  and  exert  toxic  influences  upon  the  whole 
organism  through  the  blood,  or  they  may  act  locally,  as  for  instance 
chrome  dust  which  produces  chrome  sores;  paraffine,  coal-tar,  and 
other  dusts,  which  produce  various  skin  lesions,  from  plain  inflamma- 
tions to  deadly  cancers. 

Investigations  by  Dr.  Collis  seem  to  indicate  that  a  large  pro- 
portion of  silica  is  the  most  important  factor  in  the  injurious  effects 
of  dust,  especially  in  causing  pulmonary  tuberculosis.  Dr.  Collis' 
conclusions  on  the  effects  of  dust  and  its  relation  to  disease  are  the 
following:  Inhalation  of  all  forms  of  dust  is  accompanied  by  dimin- 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES 


403 


ished  power  of  chest  expansion.  Diminished  power  of  chest  expan- 
sion, so  produced,  is  accompanied  by  high  blood-pressure.  Animal 
dusts,  apart  from  the  presence  in  them  of  pathogenic  micro-organisms, 


Sandblast. 


Glass. 


when  inhaled  produce  less  effects  than  do  vegetable  and  mineral 
dusts.  Vegetable  dusts  when  inhaled  tend  to  produce  a  type  of 
chest  affection  best  described  as  asthmatic.  Of  mineral  dusts, 
those  composed  of  calcium  salts  are  least  injurious;  inhalation  of 


'&~  '^%m  ^ 

$f;     £?^OT$& 

Jffi^yfr*      *  *   -^***-»~        .  /    ""'"'.         ^ 


Cement. 


Granite. 


mineral  dusts  which  do  not  contain  free  silica  tends  to  produce 
irritation  of  the  upper  air-passages  and  respiratory  diseases  other 
than  phthisis;  inhalation  of  mineral  dusts  which  contain  free  silica 
is  associated  with  an  excess  of  phthisis,  an  excess  which  bears  a 


404  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

direct  relation  to  the  amount  of  free  silica  present.  In  general, 
dusts  appear  to  be  more  injurious  as  their  chemical  composition 
differs  from  that  of  the  human  body  or  from  the  elements  of  which 
the  body  is  normally  composed.* 

We  may  summarize  the  effects  of  industrial  dusts  upon  the 
workmen  in  factories  and  workshops  as  follows: 

(1)  Dust  acts  as  a  mechanical  obstruction  as  well  as  irritant 
in  the  upper  respiratory  passages. 

(2)  Dust  may  cut  and  wound  the  delicate  mucous  membrane 
lining  the  organs  of  the  upper  respiratory  passages. 

(3)  Dust  may  carry  infectious  germs  into  the  respiratory  tract. 
f(4)  Dust    may  carry  infectious    germs  to  the  lacerations  and 

wounds  caused  by  it,  or  to  any  openings  or  wounds  on  the  skin  or  the 
body  of  the  worker. 

(5)  Dust  acts  as  a  direct  irritant  to  the  skin,  to  the  eyes,  to  the 
ears. 

(6)  Dust  of  a  toxic    character   may  be  carried  into  the  body 
by  the  digestive  system,  by  the  lymphatic  vessels,  and  by  the  blood. 

(7)  Inhalation  of  dust  may  give  rise  to  fibroid  changes  in  lungs 
and  to  fibroid  phthisis. 

(8)  Dust  in  the  lungs  is  a  predisposing  cause  to  pulmonary 
tuberculosis. 

(9)  Industrial  dust  has  an  important  bearing  upon  the  general 
morbidity  of  industrial  workers,  especially  from  tuberculosis. 

(10)  Industrial  dust  has  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  mortality 
rate  of  the  industrial  population. 

Dust  and  Disease.  Before  proceeding  with  a  brief  discussion  of 
the  relation  of  dust  to  disease,  mention  must  be  made  of  the  dangers 
of  industrial  dusts  in  so  far  as  fires  and  explosions  are  concerned. 
Certain  dusts,  such  as  cotton,  flour,  etc.,  may  cause  explosions  and 
fires.  Only  recently  there  occurred  in  the  Husted  Mill  in  Buffalo, 
New  York,  an  explosion  which  cost  a  number  of  lives  and  which 
was  found  to  have  been  due  to  the  explosion  of  dust.  Although 
it  was  difficult  to  determine  how  the  explosion  came  about,  the 
samples  of  grain  and  dust  which  were  examined  were  found  to  con- 
tain highly  explosive  properties. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  action  of  dust  as  a 
mechanical  irritant,  as  an  obstruction  to  the  respiratory  passages, 
and  as  a  means  of  lacerating  the  delicate  mucous  membrane  of  the 

*  E.  L.  Collis:  "  Effects  of  Dust  in  Producing  Diseases  of  the  Lungs."  A  Lecture  before 
the  17th  International  Congress  cf  Medicine,  London.  1913. 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES 


405 


nose  and  throat,  and  also  of  its  possible  action  in  carrying  infectious 
germs  to  the  respiratory  tract,  infecting  wounds,  etc. 

The  action  of  dust  upon  the  skin  is  either  mechanical  or  chem- 
ical, toxic  or  infectious,  depending  upon  the  source  and  kind  of 
dust.  The  skin  of  the  body  conies  in  close  contact  with  various 
kinds  of  industrial  dust,  which  penetrate  the  clothes.  The  face 
and  hands  are  especially  exposed  to  its  action.  Dust  clogs  up  pores, 
it  acts  as  a  chronic  irritant  and,  if  it  has  poisonous  qualities,  it  may 
be  absorbed  through  the  skin.  This  is  especially  the  case  with 
dusts  such  as  lead  and  arsenic,  and  with  specially  irritant  stuffs  like 
aniline  dyes,  coal-tar  dyes,  etc.,  etc. 

Dust  may  carry  infectious  germs  to  open  wounds  or  sores  and 


"sOSSSEBe* 

Sandstone. 


Limestone. 


cause  inflammations,  furunculosis,  and  other  infections.  Acute 
erythematus  irritations  are  caused  by  certain  coal-tar  products, 
such  as  aniline  dyes ;  these,  as  well  as  other  irritant  materials,  cause 
acute  dermatitis,  'chronic  eczema,  and  various  other  inflammations 
of  the  skin,  acute  or  chronic. 

Workers  have  special  names  for  the  skin  affections  due  to  indus- 
trial dusts.  Thus,  there  is  the  "  cement- workers'  itch,"  the 
"  bakers'  itch/'  and  other  skin  diseases  affecting  flax  and  other 
spinners,  furriers,  painters,  tobacco-workers,  etc.  Polishers,  grind- 
ers and  metal-workers  suffer  from  a  form  of  acne,  while  bleach- 
workers,  and  those  who  work  in  soda  works  or  with  calcium  carbide, 
suffer  from  a  special  disease  of  swelling  of  the  palms  and  hyper- 


406 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


'&..    V 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  407 

dyrosis,  or  excessive  sweating  of  the  inflamed  surfaces  which  shed 
drops  of  sweat. 

Prolonged  exposure  to  certain  kinds  of  dust  leads  at  times  to 
more  serious  affections,  such  as  cancer.  Paraffin-workers'  and 
chimney-sweeps'  cancer  are  well-known  forms,  due  to  industrial 
dusts.  Cancer  is  also  frequent  in  other  dusty  trades. 

The  eye  affections  which  are  due  to  industrial  dusts  are  either 
wounds  directly  caused  by  large  particles  of  dust  entering  the  eye, 
or  chronic  irritation  brought  about  by  the  finer  dusts.  Thousands 
of  workers  are  injured  by  particles  of  dust  lodging  in  the  eyes  and 
also  through  amateur  attempts  of  their  fellow-workers  to  extract 
these  particles.  Their  unskillful  handling  often  results  in  injuring 
the  delicate  eye-membrane.  Chronic  irritation  of  the  eye  by  mechan- 
ically or  chemically  irritant  dusts  is  seen  in  the  various  affections 
of  the  eye,  such  as  conjunctivitis,  blepharitis,  and  ulcerations  of  the 
cornea. 

More  important  than  the  effects  of  dust  upon  the  skin,  eyes, 
and  upper  respiratory  passages  is  the  direct  effect  of  prolonged 
exposure  to  industrial  dusts  on  the  lung-tissue  itself.  The  two 
diseases  which  are  caused  by  dust-inhalation  are  fibroid  and  tuber- 
cular phthisis,  although  the  lesser  affections,  such  as  bronchitis, 
acute  and  chronic,  emphysema,  and  asthma  have  also  been  proven 
to  be  due  to  action  of  dusts.  Indeed,  bronchitis  is  usually  a  fore- 
runner of  more  serious  lung  affections,  as  are  all  the  catarrhs  of  the 
respiratory  passages.  Only  after  a  chronic  inflammation  of  these 
passages  can  the  dust  gain  access  to  the  lung-tissue  and  produce 
more  serious  affections,  either  in  fibrosis  of  the  lung  or  in  tubercular 
affection. 

The  chronic  irritation  of  all  dusts,  and  especially  of  certain  kinds 
of  dusts,  causes  infiltration  and  inflammation  of  the  connective 
tissue  of  the  cells  of  the  lung,  the  dust  particles  become  encapsulated, 
and  part  of  the  lung-tissue  undergoes  what  is  called  fibroid  changes. 
The  cells  of  the  lung  lose  their  elasticity  and  various  symptoms  and 
pathological  changes  result  from  this  fibrosis. 

The  fibroid  changes  in  the  lungs  caused  by  dusts  are  called 
by  the  general  name  "  pneumokoniosis,"  and  the  resulting  diseases 
are  designated  according  to  the  source  of  the  dust;  thus,  "  anthra- 
cosis,"  coal-miner's  lung;  "  siderosis,"  the  lungs  of  metal-grinders, 
etc.;  "  chalicosis,"  of  the  stone-workers,  etc.  Lung  diseases  of 
workers  are  also  known  as  "  potter's  rot,"  "  coal-miner's  phthisis," 
"  stone-cutter's  rot,"  "  furrier's  asthma,"  etc. 


408 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


New  York  State  Factory  Commission. 

Girl  Worker  in  a  Preparing  Room  of  a  Cordage  Factory.     A  very  Dust3r 

Occupation. 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  409 

Fibroid  phthisis  usually  comes  on  very  slowly  and  its  symp- 
toms are  at  first  masked,  but  with  the  progress  of  the  disease  they 
become  more  marked  and  last  for  a  great  many  years,  unless  the 
disease  becomes  complicated  with  a  tubercular  affection.  Coughs, 
shortness  of  breath,  diminution  of  chest  expansion,  difficulty  of 
breathing,  fatigue  on  exertion,  anaemia,  and  general  weakness  of  the 
body  usually  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  development  of  fibrosis  of 
the  lungs,  although  the  worker,  while  decreasing  in  his  industrial 
efficiency,  may  go  on  with  his  work  for  a  great  many  years.  If  he 
leaves  his  work,  the  disease  may  be  arrested  and  the  worker  recover 
from  his  affection.  Not  all  cases  of  fibroid  phthisis  remain  uncom- 
plicated or  present  the  same  pathological  picture.  Many  of  them 
become  affected  with  tuberculosis;  some  of  them  suffer  from  emphy- 
sema; and  many  of  them  drop  out  from  their  industry  and  take 
up  other  less  dusty  trades. 

The  relation  of  dust-inhalation  to  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs  of 
workers  is  well  known.  Workers  suffering  from  chronic  inflamma- 
tions of  the  upper  respiratory  passages,  from  chronic  bronchitis,  and 
from  impairment  of  the  action  of  the  lungs  through  dust-inhalations 
fall  ready  prey  to  the  effects  of  the  tubercular  bacilli  which  are  so 
ubiquitous  and  may  be  found  in  every  industrial  plant,  due  to 
dry  sputum  and  excretions  from  tuberculous  workers.  Such  workers 
have  not  the  necessary  resistance  to  withstand  the  attack  of  tuber- 
cular germs  and  tuberculous  phthisis  easily  develops  and  counts 
its  victims  by  the  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands.  The  role  of 
pulmonary  phthisis  in  general  morbidity  and  mortality  of  workers 
has  been  abundantly  proven  by  statistical  data  gained  from  the 
census  reports  of  the  Registrar  General  of  England,  and  from  the 
careful  statistics  of  the  sick-benefit  societies  and  state  insurance  of 
Germany  and  other  countries. 

The  classic  table  of  John  Tatham  has  been  cited  many  times 
and  gives  a  graphic  view  of  the  relation  of  dusty  trades  to  consump- 
tion.* That  table  is  as  follows: 

*  Oliver:  "  Dangerous  Trades,"  p.  135. 


410 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Comparative 

Mortality 

Figures. 

OCCUPATION. 

Mortality 
Figures 
(All  Causes). 

Phthisis. 

Diseases  of  the 
Respiratory 
Organs. 

Agriculturist           

602 

106 

115 

Pottery:  Earthenware  Manufacture.  .  .  . 
Cutler                          

1706 
1516 

333 

382 

668 
518 

File-maker           

1810 

402 

423 

Glass-maker                             

1487 

295 

445 

1381 

294 

406 

Iron  and  Steel  Manufacture              .... 

1301 

195 

450 

Stone  Quarries                       

1176 

269 

307 

1088 

279 

273 

Chimney-sweep  

1311 

260 

291 

Lead-worker  

1783 

148 

397 

Cotton  Manufacture.                

1141 

202 

338 

Sommerf eld's  statistics  also  show  the  following  changes  in  the 
pulmonary  phthisis  rate  between  workers  in  occupations  without 
dust  and  workers  in  occupations  with  various  kinds  of  dust.* 


OCCUPATION. 

Number  of  Deaths 
Due  to  Phthisis 
Per  Thousand. 

Percentage  of  Deaths 
Due  to  Phthisis 
Per  Thousand. 

Occupations  without  Dust.  .  

381.0 

2.39 

Mortality  in  Dusty  Trades 

480  0 

5  42 

Metallic  Dusts         

470  6 

5  84 

Mineral  Dusts  

403.4 

4  42 

Organic  Dusts.  .  .  

537.04 

5.64 

Hoffman,  in  his  statistics,  based  upon  the  experience  of  an  indus- 
trial-insurance company,  has  shown  the  following  mortality  rate 
due  to  consumption,  according  to  ages,  in  the  various  groups  of 
dusty  trades.j 


OCCUPATION. 


25  to  34 

35  to  44. 

45  to  54. 

Occupations  with  Exposure  to  Metallic  Dusts 
Mineral  Dusts  

57.2 
47  6 

42.4 
36  3 

23.4 

27  9 

Vegetable  Fibre  Dusts 

53  9 

4.Q  o 

OQ    Q 

Animal  and  Mixed  Fibre  Dusts 

53  3 

48  3 

25  3 

Percentage  of  Deaths  Di>e  to  Con- 
sumption in  Each  Age  Group. 


*  Sommerfeld:  "  Die  Schwindsucht  der  Arbeiter." 
f  "  Mortality  from  Consumption  in  Dusty  Trades  ' 
p.  857. 


Bulletin,  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  79, 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  411 

II 
DUSTY  TRADES 

Attempts  at  classifying  the  dusty  trades  have  been  made  ac- 
cording to  source,  character,  kind  and  toxicity  of  the  dust. 
To  one,  however,  who  daily  visits  all  kinds  of  industrial  establish- 
ments it  seems  that  no  classification  is  possible,  that  there  are  no 
dusty  trades,  for  the  reason  that  all  trades  are  dusty.  If  the  trade 
itself  has  no  special  dust,  the  establishment  where  the  trade  is  housed 
has  some  dusty  process  or  condition  in  some  part  of  the  establish- 
ment. One  often  goes  through  a  factory  finding  all  conditions 
safe  and  sanitary  until  he  reaches  the  boiler-room,  where  half  a  dozen 
men  are  shovelling  soft  coal  into  the  boilers  and  raising  clouds  of 
dust,  part  of  which  is  disseminated  to  other  parts  of  the  building. 
In  an  inspection  of  a  sugar  refinery,  where  one  would  not  usually 
expect  to  find  much  dust,  one  suddenly  enters  a  room  where  the 
air  is  full  of  charcoal  dust,  where  working  hours  are  from  eight  to 
twelve  per  day,  and  where  the  dust  is  so  thick  that  one  cannot  see 
two  to  three  feet  ,away.  It  is  this  ubiquity  of  dust  in  industry  that 
makes  a  classification  of  the  dusty  trades  so  difficult. 

Metal  Trades.  All  metals  are  used  in  industry.  Iron,  copper, 
zinc,  lead,  tin  are  used  either  in  their  pure  state  or  as  compounds, 
alloys,  salts,  etc.  A  number  of  trades  are  designated  according  to 
the  principal  metal  used — thus,  iron-workers,  brass-workers,  tin- 
smiths, lead-workers,  etc.  A  greater  number  of  trades,  however, 
are  designated  by  the  character  and  kind  of  work  performed,  no 
matter  what  metal  is  used.  Thus,  we  have  miners,  smelters,  refiners, 
foundrymen,  grinders,  polishers,  buffers,  and  makers  of  all  kinds  of 
objects,  utensils,  tools,  and  appliances  of  various  kinds  of  metals, 
each  designated  by  the  work  they  are  doing. 

Most  metal  workers  are  exposed  to  the  action  of  metal  dust, 
depending  upon  the  character  of  the  work  performed.  After  a 
statistical  study  of  the  mortality  of  workers  in  metal  trades,  Hoffman 
came  to  the  conclusion  "  that  the  injurious  effects  of  exposure  to 
metal  dusts  are  reflected  in  (1)  a  comparatively  small  proportion 
of  persons  of  advanced  years  in  industry,  (2)  a  high  general  death 
rate,  and  (3)  a  very  high  specific  rate  from  consumption  and  other 
respiratory  diseases."* 

*  Mortality  from  Consumption  in  Dusty  Trades,  U.  S.  Dept.  Labor,  Bulletin  No.  79,  p.  681. 


412 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Foundries  are  places  where  iron  or  other  metals  are  melted  and 
cast  in  cores  and  forms  of  all  kinds.    Mineral  dust  is  produced  during 


the  formation  and  baking  of  the  cores,  metal  dust  in  the  grind- 
ing off  of  the  rough  edges  of  cast  articles,  and  a  mixture  of  mineral 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  413 

and  metal  dust  in  the  sand-blasting  processes,  by  which  the  rough 
edges  and  parts  of  cast  articles  are  polished  off. 

The  greatest  amount  of  dust  occurs  in  the  sand-blasting  process, 
which  is  carried  on  in  some  nook  or  corner  of  the  factory,  and  is 
at  times  not  separated  from  other  processes.  I  have  seen  sand- 
blasting done  in  an  iron  foundry  in  the  middle  of  the  establishment, 
with  no  protection  whatever  to  the  rest  of  the  place.  The  dust 
which  was  raised  spread  all  through  the  room  in  which  the  sand- 
blasting was  done  and  to  adjacent  rooms.  The  only  protection 
the  worker  had  was  a  rough  helmet,  poorly  devised,  and  which 
allowed  dust  to  come  in. 

Sand-blasting  as  it  is  done  in  the  open  air,  as  shown  in  the  illustra- 
tion on  page  419,  is  less  harmful,  although  it  raises  no  less  dust  and 
the  worker  needs  the  protection  of  special  clothes  and  respirators. 

In  Belgium  and  Germany  I  saw  sand-blasting  processes  carried 
on  in  special  separate  rooms  which  were  well  ventilated  and  supplied 
with  air-exhaust.  The  worker  was  not  allowed  to  go  into  the  room, 
but  carried  on  the  process  from  the  outside  of  the  room,  manipulat- 
ing the  tools  through  openings  in  the  glass  doors. 

The  process  of  sand-blasting  is  only  an  occasional  one,  and  foun- 
dry workers  are  compelled  to  do  it  only  for  a  short  time  on  certain 
days  of  the  week.  Foundry  workers  say  that  if  they  were  com- 
pelled to  do  sand-blasting  every  day  of  the  week  they  could  not 
live  for  more  than  a  year.  The  great  morbidity  of  foundry  workers 
which  has  been  reported  by  the  New  York  State  Factory  Com- 
mission was  due  also  to  the  other  unhealthy  conditions  prevalent 
in  foundries,  such  as  exposure  to  extreme  heat,  and  sudden  change 
from  heat  to  cold.  The  foundry  workers  demanded  and  received 
in  New  York  State  special  legislation  guarding  them  against  dust, 
heat,  etc. 

In  the  processes  of  grinding,  polishing,  and  buffing  metal  objects 
and  articles,  abundant  dust,  partly  metallic  and  partly  mineral,  is 
given  off.  Metal-grinding  is  proverbially  an  unhealthy  occupation, 
and  all  writers  on  the  subject  have  by  figures,  facts,  and  statistics 
endeavored  to  prove  the  high  mortality  and  great  morbidity  of  workers 
in  this  trade. 

Greenhow,  Hall,  Roepke,  and  a  host  of  others  have  shown  that 
the  average  age  of  steel-grinders  was  only  twenty-nine  years,  that 
the  mortality  from  pulmonary  phthisis  was  345  out  of  a  thousand, 
that  458  grinders  in  a  thousand  died  between  the  ages  of  forty-five 
and  fifty-five,  etc.  The  same  is  true  of  metal-polishers.  A  writer 


414  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

says:  "Metal-polishers  who  have  reached  the  age  of  forty  often 
look  like  old  men.  There  can  hardly  be  found  a  trade  more  dele- 
terious to  health.  Among  the  harmful  conditions  may  be  men- 
tioned the  amount  of  dust  which  gets  into  the  lungs  of  the  workmen; 
such  dust  is  composed  of  metal,  minerals,  and  cotton  fiber."  *  Polish- 
ing of  metals  on  a  lathe,  which  turns  at  times  at  the  rate  of  2500  revo- 
lutions per  minute,  raises  a  cloud  of  dust,  and  "has  wrecked  many 
constitutions." 

In  some  •establishments  the  work  of  grinding  and  polishing  has 
become  a  comparatively  harmless  process,  thanks  to  modern  dust- 
removal  devices.  I  shall  never  forget  the  spectacle  presented  by 
one  of  the  largest  grinding-  and  polishing-rooms  I  have  seen  here  or 
abroad;  viz.,  the  polishing-room  of  a  cutlery  establishment  at 
Solingen,  near  Diisseldorf,  Germany,  an  establishment  several 
centuries  old.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  nearly  800  workers  were  at 
work  at  the  different  benches,  grinding  and  polishing  knives,  forks, 
etc.,  there  was  hardly  any  dust  in  the  room,  so  well  was  each  table 
and  each  polishing-  and  buffing-wheel  and  lathe  protected  with 
local  exhausts. 

Dr.  Roepke  of  Solingen  cites  the  difference  in  the  sickness  and 
death  rates  of  the  workers  in  Solingen  before  the  introduction  of 
local  exhausts  and  strict  state  supervision  and  after  such  introduc- 
tion. According  to  Roepke  and  Moritz,  who  examined  1250  grinders, 
they  found  9.04  per  cent  suffering  from  diseases  of  the  lungs  and 
48.1  per  cent  suffering  from  diseases  of  the  pharynx  and  larynx. 
They  also  found  no  grinder  over  forty-five  years  who  was  healthy. 
The  latest  reports  of  Dr.  Roepke  are  that  there  is  a  remarkable 
improvement  in  the  mortality  and  morbidity  of  Solingen  workers, 
due  to  rigorous  state  supervision  and  to  the  introduction  of  dust- 
removal  appliances. 

There  is  considerable  metal  dust  generated  in  the  brass,  copper, 
and  lead  industries,  and  these  dusts  are  more  dangerous  because  of 
their  poisonous  character.  The  number  of  industries  and  industrial 
establishments  in  which  dust  of  a  poisonous  character  is  evolved 
is  very  great.  This  subject  will  be  discussed  in  the  next  chapter. 

Mineral  Trades.  The  industries  in  which  dusts  are  abundant 
are  very  numerous.  Mineral  dust  is  found  not  only  in  trades  where 
minerals  are  being  worked  with,  but  also  in  other  trades;  for  instance, 
wherever  grinding  and  polishing  of  metals  is  done  upon  mineral 
stones,  lathes,  etc.  Quarry  men,  cutters  and  workers  with  all  kinds 

*  G.  Willetts,  quoted  by  Hoffman:  Bulletin  No.  79,  U.  S.  Department  of  Labor. 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES 


415 


of  stone,  glass-workers,  glass-cutters,  diamond-cutters  and  polishers, 
potters,  cement-workers,  plasterers,  marble-workers,  carborundum, 
graphite,  emery,  calcium  carbide,  and  many  other  workers  are  all 
exposed  to  mineral  dust. 

The  general  effect  of  inhalation  of  mineral  dust  is  about  the 
same  as  that  of  the  inhalation  of  metal  and  other  dusts,  and  Hoff- 
man found  after  a  statistical  study  of  a  representative  number  of 


N.  Y.  State  Factory  Commission. 

Workers  in  a  Factory  where  the  Skins  from  Hares  and  Rabbits  are  Scraped  off 
for  Supplying  Felt  for  Hats.  The  skins  are  "canotted"  or  treated  with 
a  solution  of  nitrate  of  mercury.  Workers  subject  to  dust  inhalation  and 
to  mercurial  poison. 

employments  necessitating  exposure  to  mineral  dust  that  the 
"  health-injurious  effects  of  such  exposure  revealed  themselves  in 
the  high  general  death  rate,  especially  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  or  over, 
and  with  a  correspondingly  high  specific  death  rate  from  consump- 
tion and  from  other  respiratory  diseases  at  ages  between  35  and  over,  ' 
by  which  time  the  dust  inhaled  began  to  show  its  effect.''* 

In  a  report  by  Dr.  Sidney  Barwise,  Medical  Officer  of  Derby- 
shire, the  statement  is  made  that  the  death  rate  from  phthisis  among 

*  "  Mortality  from  Consumption  in  Dusty  Trades,"  Bulletin  No.  79,  p.  726. 


416  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

gritstone-workers  is  twenty  times  greater  than  in  the  same  social 
class  employed  in  agriculture,  and  seventeen  times  greater  than  in 
other  workers;  that  the  death  rate  from  phthisis  of  workers  employed 
in  limestone  is  twice  as  great  as  that  of  other  workers;  that  the  rate 
among  coal-miners  is  about  the  same  as  among  those  engaged  in 
agriculture,  and  less  than  the  average  of  other  workers;  that  the 
death  rate  from  phthisis  among  gritstone-workers  is  so  high  that  it 
accounts  for  the  death  rate  of  the  general  population  on  the  grit- 
stone areas  being  above  the  average  of  England  and  Wales;  that 
among  gritstone-workers  45  per  cent  of  all  the  deaths  of  workers 
above  fifteen  years  of  age  are  from  phthisis,  while  12  per  cent  of 
the  limestone-workers  and  7.4  per  cent  of  coal-miners  die  from  this 
cause.*  It  seems,  therefore,  that  phthisis  is  more  frequent  among 
these  workers  with  a  large  amount  of  silica  than  among  the  Sheffield 
workers  suffering  from  "  grinder's  rot,"  or  those  who  suffer  from 
"  stone-cutter's  phthisis/'  and  other  workers  exposed  to  ordinary 
mineral  dust.  The  analysis  of  the  gritstone  worked  by  these  men 
has  shown  96.4  per  cent  of  silica. 

In  a  table  given  by  Dr.  Collis  in  his  paper  read  before  the  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Medicine  at  London,  1913,  detailed  data  are 
given  as  to  the  frequency  of  tuberculosis  among  workers  in  dif- 
ferent dusty  mineral  trades,  and  the  figures  show  that  danger  from 
phthisis  is  in  proportion  to  the  silica  contents  of  the  mineral  dust. 

Other  workers  subject  to  a  great  deal  of  mineral  dust  are  the 
glass,  diamond,  pottery,  cement-workers,  plasterers,  house-WTeckers, 
core-makers,  lithographers,  etc. 

In  potteries  the  dust  evolved  is  excessive  in  certain  parts  of  the 
establishment.  In  modern  cement  mills  the  process  is  nearly 
automatic,  and  very  little  dust  is  allowed  to  escape.  Much  dust 
is  inhaled  by  all  workers  on  emery-wheels  and  on  carborundum, 
alundum,  and  other  materials  used  for  grinding  purposes.  Painters 
who  have  to  sandpaper  and  sandrub  walls  must  very  often  inhale 
large  quantities  of  mineral  dusts,  as  well  as  lead-paint  dust. 

The  dustiest  establishments  I  have  seen  are  the  carborundum, 
graphite,  calcium  carbide,  and  alundum  works  at  Niagara  Falls, 
New  York.  These  huge  electro-thermal  establishments,  working 
as  they  do  with  mineral  substances,  cannot  be  compared  with  any 
other  factories;  for  while  other  establishments  may  be  dusty 
at  certain  times  and  places,  these  large  works  are  dusty  everywhere 

*  Report  on  the  Prevalence  of  Phthisis  among  Quarry- Workers  and  Miners,  Derbyshire 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  417 

and  at  all  the  times.  The  crude  minerals  are  brought  in  cars  to 
the  factory  and  shovelled  by  men  working  without  any  protec- 
tion whatever,  taken  to  the  electric  furnaces,  and  there  subjected  to 
a  high  degree  of  electric  heat,  which  transforms  them  into  the  new 
substances,  which  then  have  to  be  cut,  broken  up  or  pulverized. 
In  all  processes  from  the  first  to  the  last,  clouds  of  dust  are  evolved 
which  there  seems  to  be  no  way  of  preventing  and  which  is  constantly 
inhaled  by  the  workers,  of  whom  there  are  from  several  hundreds 
to  several  thousands  in  each  establishment. 

Investigations  made  by  the  New  York  State  Factory  Commission 
into  the  conditions  in  these  establishments  showed  that  a  large 
number  of  workers  were  tuberculous,  and  that  pneumonia  was 
very  prevalent  among  them.  At  the  time  of  the  investigation 
by  the  Commission,  very  little  was  being  done  by  the  employers 
to  remove  or  prevent  the  dust  or  to  protect  the  workers  against  the 
consequence  of  dust-exposure  and  inhalation. 

Vegetable  Dusts.  The  factories  in  which  large  amounts  of 
vegetable  dusts  may  be  found  are  numerous.  The  industries  con- 
taining such  dust  are  many.  Vegetable  dust  is  found  in  cotton, 
hemp,  jute,  flax,  textile  mills,  in  establishments  where  wood  is  being 
worked  with  and  wooden  objects  manufactured,  in  the  large  industry 
of  making  and  manufacturing  cotton  clothing,  in  tobacco  manu- 
facture, in  the  making  of  buttons  from  vegetable  ivory,  and  in  many 
other  similar  trades. 

In  the  cotton  industry,  much  dust  is  produced  during  the  gin- 
ning, preparing  and  carding  processes,  and  in  lesser  quantities  during 
the  other  stages  of  manufacture.  The  same  is  true  in  hemp,  jute, 
flax,  and  other  mills.  The  illustration  on  page  408,  is  from  a  large 
cordage  mill  at  Auburn,  New  York,  and  shows  a  woman  worker 
surrounded  by  hemp  material  raising  clouds  of  dust.  Hundreds 
of  bales  of  hemp  were  being  opened  in  the  same  establishment, 
prepared  and  carded  without  any  provision  for  ventilation  what- 
ever, and  only  after  the  visit  of  the  Commission  and  the  consequent 
publicity  given  to  working  conditions  in  this  factory  was  a  ventilat- 
ing plant  installed,  which  mitigated  the  former  dusty  conditions. 

In  the  large  industry  at  Rochester,  New  York,  of  making  but- 
tons from  vegetable  ivory  I  found  the  dust  in  the  factories  excessive, 
although  in  some  of  the  better  class  of  establishments  attempts 
have  been  made  to  remedy  the  evil.  Hoffman  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  "  exposure  to  vegetable-fiber  dust  is  decidedly  injurious 
to  health,  and  that  the  mortality  from  consumption  among  employes 


418 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


in  this  field  of  occupations  is  very  much  higher  at  all  ages  than  would 
be  expected." 

One  fact  especially  must  be  emphasized  in  relation  to  vegetable 
dusts — that  in  industries  in  which  such  dust  is  evolved  there  is  a 
specially  large  proportion  of  women  and  minors  at  work.  This  is 
notably  the  case  in  textile  mills  and  in  tobacco  factories,  where 
a  large  number  of  young  children  and  females  are  at  work,  especially 


N.  Y.  State  Factory  Commission. 

Workers  Carrying  Skins  Treated  with  Nitrate  of  Mercury.     They  are  subject 
to  the  dust,  as  well  as  to  action  of  mercurial  poison. 

in  states  where  the  legal  working  age  is  very  low  and  where  state 
supervision  is  perfunctory. 

Animal  Dust.  There  are  a  number  of  industries  in  which  there 
is  much  animal  dust  present,  and  the  exposure  to  this  dust  has 
been  found  no  less  dangerous  than  exposure  to  other  kinds  of  dusts. 
Such  industries  are  the  manufacture  of  silk  and  wool,  rags  and  shoddy, 
boots  and  shoes,  human  hair,  feathers,  mattresses,  etc.,  etc. 

In  silk,  wool,  rag,  and  shoddy  mills  the  carding,  preparing  and 
sorting  rooms  are  full  of  dust,  while  the  other  parts  of  the  establish- 
ment are  not  entirely  free  from  it.  In  the  manufacture  of  hair, 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES 


419 


feathers,  mattresses,  etc.,  large  amounts  of  dust  are  given  off,  cover- 
ing the  whole  body  of  the  worker  and  causing  him  to  inhale  large 


Pullman  Car  Co. 

Sand-blasting  Exterior  of  Car.     Worker  wears  respirator. 

amounts  of  these  materials.  Most  of  these  animal  dusts  are  very 
irritating.  Some  dusts,  such  as  those  from  shoddy,  may  cause  a 
special  train  of  symptoms  called  "  shoddy  fever,"  while  the  inhalation 


420  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

of  other  animal  dusts  may  cause  many  ills  and  injuries  to  various 
parts  of  the  body,  as  already  noted. 

The  handling  of  animal  objects  in  manufacture  and  inhaling  of 
dusts  from  these  objects  often  causes  disease  by  the  presence  of 
infectious  bacteria.  This  is  notably  the  case  with  "  wool-sorter's 
disease,"  and  "anthrax,"  which  occurs  among  those  working  on 
animal  hides  and  skins. 

In  the  shoe  industry  there  is  considerable  dust  in  various  proc- 
esses, as  has  been  described  in  detail  in  Dr.  William  C.  Hanson's 
"  Dangers  to  Workers  from  Dusts  and  Fumes,  and  Methods  of 
Protection,"  United  States  Department  of  Labor,  Bulletin  No. 
127.  According  to  Dr.  Hanson,  the  most  dusty  processes  in  the 
making-department  of  boot  and  shoe  factories  are  trimming,  shav- 
ing, scouring,  polishing,  finishing  and  cleaning  parts  of  the  shoe. 
The  dust  generated  includes  leather,  fine  lint,  fiber,  bristles,  dry 
blacking,  sand,  emery,  and  carborundum. 

Fur-workers  are  exposed  to  irritating  dust  from  skins  of  all  kinds 
of  animals,  and  often  suffer  from  "  furrier's  asthma."  Furriers 
also  show  a  very  large  percentage  of  tuberculosis.  In  an  examina- 
tion of  a  limited  number  (100)  of  furriers  in  New  York  City,  I 
found  that  6  per  cent  of  them  suffered  from  pulmonary  tuberculosis, 
over  30  per  cent  from  chronic  bronchitis;  and  13  per  cent  from  asthma 
and  emphysema.  Furriers  are  also  subject  to  acute  and  chronic 
inflammatory  conditions  of  the  skin  of  the  hands,  due,  it  is  said,  to 
the  irritant  action  of  the  dyes  used  on  furs, 

III 
PREVENTION  AND  PROTECTION 

Much  of  the  dust  produced  in  industry  is  not  necessary,  and 
a  great  many  of  the  injurious  effects  of  dust  may  be  prevented.  The 
enormous  waste  of  human  life  in  industry  due  to  dust  is  a  problem 
the  solution  of  which  is  not  difficult,  if  proper  spirit  is  shown  by 
employers,  if  adequate  provisions  are  made  by  manufacturers,  if 
these  provisions  are  properly  supervised  by  the  state  authorities, 
and  if  the  workers  are  educated  in  the  methods  of  prevention  and 
know  how  to  protect  themselves  against  the  baneful  effects  of  dust 
inhalation. 

Industrial  efficiency  demands  the  prevention  of  dust.  Industrial 
economy  is  based  upon  the  prevention  of  dust  and  its  utilization 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  421 

whenever  possible.     Industrial  hygiene  teaches  that  there  is  ample 
provision  for  the  protection  of  workers  in  dusty  occupations. 

There  are  four  principal  methods  of  prevention  of  dust  and  pro- 
tection of  workers  in  dusty  trades: 

(1)  Prevention  of  the  formation  of  dust; 

(2)  Isolation  of  the  dusty  process; 

(3)  Removal  of  dust  at  its  point  of  origin; 

(4)  Personal  protection  of  the  worker. 

Prevention  of  Dust-formation.  There  are  two  methods  by 
which  the  formation  of  dust  may  be  prevented.  The  first  is  the 
wet  method;  the  second  is  the  automatic  and  closed-machinery 
method. 

Wet  processes  in  industry  are  as  old  as  industry  itself.  They 
are  employed  in  a  great  many  trades  and  industrial  establishments 
and  there  is  no  reason  why  they  should  not  be  employed  in  a  great 
many  more.  Wherever  material  is  broken  up,  ground,  milled, 
polished,  powdered,  comminuted,  or  worked  over  in  whatsoever 
manner,  there  dust  can  be  prevented  from  forming  by  the  simple 
addition  of  water,  oil,  or  other  appropriate  liquid.  The  water-spout 
over  a  grinding-wheel  is  an  example  of  the  wet  process  of  grind- 
ing; the  mixing  of  lead-dust  with  oil  has  greatly  obviated  dust-for- 
mation in  lead  factories;  glass-cutting  and  polishing  by  the  wet 
process  has  removed  a  great  many  dangers.  In  a  general  way, 
it  should  be  the  cardinal  principle  of  industry,  wherever  possible, 
to  adapt  this  method  which  prevents  the  formation  of  dust  and 
thereby  protects  the  worker. 

The  second  method  by  which  dust-formation  is  prevented  is 
the  adoption  of  closed  automatic  devices.  A  great  many  industrial 
processes  are  at  present  so  constructed  as  to  present  a  consecutive 
automatic  series  of  processes,  which  are  automatically  performed, 
in  closed  chambers,  or  drums,  necessitating  human  supervision 
only.  These  automatic  processes  are  especially  useful  in  industries 
where  grinding,  powdering,  sifting,  and  mixing  of  special  valuable 
stuffs  is  done,  and  where  the  open  process  would  result  in  eco- 
nomic loss. 

An  illustration  of  automatic  processes  is  presented  in  the  modern 
flour-mill.  The  milling  of  flour,  which  formerly  was  so  dusty  and 
involved  a  great  loss  of  valuable  material,  is  at  present  almost  wholly 
automatic,  from  grinding  to  sifting,  polishing,  and  filtering,  through- 
out all  the  processes  from  one  drum  or  hopper  to  another,  until 
the  final  stage  when  the  flour  is  sent  to  be  packed  into  barrels  or 


422 


THE  MODERN  FACTOEY 


sacks.     As  a  result    of  the  automatic  process,  the  flour-mill  is  at 
present  a  comparatively  dustless  establishment. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  modern  cement  works  which  use  auto- 
matic processes,  closed  vessels,  and  cylinders,  so  that  a  comparatively 
small  amount  of  dust  is  formed.  A  dusty  operation  and,  at  the 
same  time,  a  very  dangerous  one  to  health,  is  that  of  packing  bleach 
powder  in  bleach  chambers.  A  description  of  the  process  and  its 
dangers  will  be  given  in  the  next  chapter.  As  at  present  carried 


Automatic  Process  of  Manufacturing  Chloride  of  Lime. 

From  "  Gewerbllche  Verglftungen,"  by  Dr.  J.  Rambausek. 

on  in  the  United  States,  the  powdered  dry  lime  is  spread  and  impreg- 
nated with  chlorine  gas  in  the  bleach  chambers,  which  the  workers 
are  obliged  to  enter  in  order  to  rake  it  up,  arid  shovel  it  through 
chutes  into  packing  barrels.  The  illustration  on  this  page  shows 
how  this  process  of  bleach-packing  has  been  revolutionized  in  an 
industrial  establishment  which  I  saw  at  Brussels,  where  the 
whole  process  of  getting  the  lime  into  the  hoppers,  the  impregnat- 
ing of  the  lime  with  chlorine  gas,  the  mixing  of  the  powder  with  the 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  423 

gas,  and  the  final  packing  of  the  lime  into  barrels,  is  all  done  in  her- 
metically-closed automatic  machinery,  which  prevents  the  forma- 
tion of  all  dust  and  protects  the  worker  from  its  injurious  effects. 

As  I  have  said  in  another  place,  "  If  an  infinitesimal  part  of  the 
ingenuity,  intelligence  and  thought  which  has  been  and  is  at  the 
present  time  devoted  to  the  improvement  of  machinery,  the  inven- 
tion of  mechanical  devices,  and  discovery  of  chemical  secrets  were 
devoted  to  inventions  for  the  protection  of  the  worker  and  for  the 
preservation  of  his  life  and  health,  the  danger  from  industrial  dust, 
disease  and  accidents  would  become  altogether  negligible."*  I  have 
no  doubt  that  automatic  machinery  can  be  invented  which  would 
make  a  great  many  of  the  dusty  trades  dustless  ones,  and  which 
would  make  the  pursuit  of  industry  a  healthy  exercise  and  a  blessing 
instead  of  a  danger  and  a  curse. 

Dust  can  also  be  prevented  by  using  tight  and  closed  vessels. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  transportation  and  packing  of 
dusty  materials.  The  common  method  of  shovelling  such  materials 
into  boxes,  barrels  or  sacks,  or  throwing  them  from  heights  into  these 
receptacles  is  more  than  ludicrous.  I  remember  inspecting  a  large 
biscuit  factory  where  all  the  latest  modern  automatic  devices  were 
employed,  but  where  in  one  place  I  came  upon  half  a  dozen  workers 
standing  under  a  big  spout,  through  which  thousands  of  pounds  of 
flour  came  down  in  an  uninterrupted  current,  filling  up  and  tying 
sacks  of  flour,  while  the  whole  room  was  full  of  flour-dust,  presenting 
a  waste  of  material  as  well  as  danger  to  the  health  of  the  workers. 
I  wonder  if  they  knew  in  this  factory  that  it  is  possible  to  fill  barrels 
and  sacks  automatically  by  closed  and  adjustable  fillers  attached 
to  the  place  where  the  powdered  material  comes  from,  and  also  to 
the  barrel  or  sack  to  be  filled. 

Isolation  and  Separation  of  Dusty  Processes.  Wherever  the 
formation  of  dust  cannot  be  prevented,  or  where  dust  is  formed 
only  by  one  special  process  or  in  one  special  part  or  room  of  an 
industrial  establishment,  there  is  no  need  to  fill  all  the  rooms  and  the 
whole  establishment  with  dust.  The  dusty  process  or  the  dusty 
room  may  and  should  be  entirely  isolated  and  separated  from  other 
processes  and  other  parts  of  the  building  by  dust-tight  walls,  par- 
titions and  doors.  This  is  an  important  method  of  prophylaxis 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  there  are  so  many  industrial  establishments 
where  dust  is  formed  only  in  part  of  the  building,  or  is  only  con- 

*  Report  of  the  Director  on  Chemical  Trades,  New  York  State  Factory  Commission, 
Second  Report,  p.  481. 


424 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


fined  to  one  process.  Thus,  for  instance,  in  textile  mills  the  prepar- 
ing- and  carding-room  is  the  most  dusty  place,  and  there  is  no  reason 
why  it  should  not  be  entirely  separated  and  isolated  from  other 
parts  of  the  building,  and  the  dust  kept  there  and  not  let  fill  the 
other  parts  which  are  ordinarily  free  from  dust.  This  is  also  true 
of  a  great  many  other  establishments  where  similar  conditions 
prevail. 

In  a  lead  factory  in  Germany,  which 'I  inspected,  the  whole  process 
of  manufacture  of  lead  carbonate  was  conducted  by  the  wet  process, 


Danueberge  and  Quand,  Berlin. 

Local  Exhaust  of  Dye  Dust  in  a  Paper  Factory. 

and  there  was  no  dust  in  the  entire  building.  A  small  amount  of 
dry  lead  was  also  manufactured  in  this  establishment.  This  part  of 
the  process  was  carried  on  in  an  entirely  separate  building,  and  thus 
the  lead-dust  could  do  no  harm  to  the  workers  in  the  other  buildings. 
Instead  of  separating  the  dusty  process  from  the  workers  it  is 
sometimes  possible  to  separate  the  workers  from  the  dusty  process 
by  glass  partitions  through  which  their  work  is  carried  on.  This 
is  accomplished  by  enclosing  the  dusty  process  in  one  room,  placing 
the  workers  outside  of  the  room,  and  making  openings  in  the  glass 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES 


425 


partitions  through  which,  by  means  of  long-handled  ladles  or  rakes, 
the  workers  mix  and  stir  the  dusty  materials.  The  dust  rising 
in  the  room  is  kept  within  it  and  the  glass  partitions  prevent  dust 
inhalation. 

Removal  of  Dust.  All  industrial  dusts  may,  can,  and  should  be 
removed.  The  removal  should  be  accomplished  at  the  point  of  origin 
by  a  system  of  local  exhaust-ventilation.  The  proper  installation 
of  an  efficient  system  of  local  exhaust-ventilation  for  dust-removal 
is  an  important  and  very  complicated  engineering  problem.  The 


A.  Kiindlg,  Zurich. 

Local  Dust  Exhaust  in  a  Carding  Shop.     Textile  Mill. 

solution  of  this  problem,  with  the  theoretical  calculations  and 
practical  mechanical  installations,  should  be  given  into  the  hands  of 
competent  scientifically  trained  industrial  ventilating  engineers. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  as  yet  there  is  no  very  large  contingent  of 
such  engineers  in  this  country,  although  there  are  already  a  number 
of  companies  which  make  local  dust-extraction  their  specialty. 
Abroad,  this  branch  of  engineering  is  greatly  developed  and  there 
are  thousands  of  engineers  in  this  specialty,  and  a  large  number  of 
firms  confine  their  work  to  the  installation  and  maintenance  of 
dust-removing  apparata. 


426  THE  MODEEN  FACTORY 

A  brief  discussion  will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  methods  of  this 
important  work.  The  factors  to  be  considered  are:  (1)  kind,  char- 
acter, value,  and  specific  gravity  of  the  dust  to  be  removed;  (2) 
the  hoods;  (3)  the  branch  pipes  and  ducts;  (4)  the  main  pipe  or 
duct;  (5)  the  fans;  (6)  the  motive  power;  (7)  the  disposal  of  the 
dust. 

In  all  systems  of  dust-removal  the  size  of  the  particles  and  the 
specific  gravity  of  the  dust  must  be  known  in  order  to  determine 
the  power  necessary  for  its  removal.  It  is  also  necessary  to  know 
whether  the  dust  is  constant  or  intermittent  and  whether  it  is  pro- 
duced in  large  or  small  quantities.  The  value  of  the  dust  is  also  of 
importance,  in  order  to  determine  whether  the  dust  should  be  col- 
lected and  utilized,  or  otherwise  disposed  of.  Some  dusts  are 
extremely  valuable,  and  must  be  collected  immediately  at  the  point 
of  origin;  other  dusts  may  be  collected  at  the  distal  end  of  the  dust- 
removal  system. 

The  collection  of  the  dust  at  its  point  of  origin  is  not  always  a 
simple  matter.  Machines  and  processes  are  of  such  great  variety 
that  it  is  not  always  possible  to  adjust  the  primary  collection  appara- 
tus of  the  dust-removal  system.  For  the  ordinary  dusty  processes 
or  machines,  hoods  are  constructed  of  wood  or  sheet  metal,  usually 
of  the  latter.  The  hood  encloses  or  boxes-in  the  point  where  the  dust 
originates,  and  the  dust  is  then  drawn  into  this  hood  through  systems 
of  pipes  by  fans  operated  by  motive  power.  The  proper  construc- 
tion and  adjustment  of  the  hoods  is  a  science  by  itself.  It  is  desir- 
able that  their  construction  shall  not  be  too  costly  or  too  cumbrous; 
but  it  is  necessary  at  the  same  time  to  have  them  envelope  all  dust- 
producing  apparata  and  come  in  close  contact  with  all  places  where 
dust  originates.  Wherever  possible,  dust-producing  machines  or 
processes  should  be  entirely  enclosed.  With  smaller  machines 
this  is  not  difficult.  Thus,  in  grinding-machines  it  is  a  comparatively 
easy  matter  to  enclose  them  and  leave  only  a  small  part  of  the  grind- 
ing-wheel  exposed.  This  can  also  be  done  with  other  polishing-  and 
buffing-wheels.  It  is  more  difficult  with  carding-machines  in  tex- 
tile mills  and  with  other  machines  of  a  large  size. 

Wherever  the  dust-producing  machine  or  process  is  either  so 
big  that  its  enclosure  would  be  too  costly,  too  cumbersome,  or  other- 
wise impossible,  or  where  the  nature  of  the  process  is  such  that  its 
hooding  or  enveloping  is  inconvenient  or  impossible,  other  means 
may  be  used  for  the  first  step  in  the  local  dust-removal.  Thus,  in 
rolls  and  calenders  where  dust  is  only  produced  at  a  certain  point, 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  427 

it  may  not  be  necessary  to  enclose  the  whole  roll  or  calender  with 
a  hood;  but  a  suction  pipe  may  be  attached  to  the  place  on  the  out- 
side of  the  rolls  where  the  dust  is  being  produced.  In  rag-sorting, 
wool-sorting,  shoddy-sorting,  etc.,  it  is  often  possible  to  place  the 
materials  upon  a  wire-mesh  grating  under  which  the  exhaust  system 
works,  and  thus  draws  in  the  dust,  without  any  special  hood  or  cover. 

In  factories  manufacturing  drugs,  colors  and  dyes,  notably  in 
the  Beyer  Chemical  Works  at  Leverkussen,  Germany,  and  in  many 
other  chemical  factories  in  this  country,  I  have  seen  girls  weighing 
and  mixing  colors  and  chemicals  sitting  before  a  glass-covered  table 
partitioned  off  for  each  worker,  there  being  an  opening  into  a  pipe 
at  the  distal  end  of  the  table  through  which  air  is  exhausted. 
Attempts  have  also  been  made  to  protect  workers  in  front  of  dusty 
machines  by  having  a  powerful  blast  of  air  blown  against  the  dust- 
forming  part  of  the  machine,  thus  directing  the  dust  into  the  exhaust 
system. 

The  shape  of  the  hood  also  depends  upon  whether  the  exhaust 
is  upward  or  downward.  It  must  always  be  shaped  so  that  the 
refuse  and  dust  is  thrown  directly  to  a  point  where  it  may  be 
caught  by  the  highest  velocity  of  the  air. 

The  branch  ducts  or  pipes,  usually  made  of  sheet  metal,  which 
are  attached  to  the  hoods  and  conduct  the  dust  into  the  main  exhaust 
dust-pipe,  are  of  importance  as  to  construction,  maintenance,  size, 
diameter,  internal  surface,  etc.,  etc.  Pipes  of  large  diameter  and 
size  are  costly  but  present  less  friction  and  need  less  motive  power 
for  the  exhaust  of  air  and  dust  through  them.  Branch  ducts  should 
not  be  too  small,  however,  because  they  then  unduly  increase  the 
resistance  and  the  cost  of  the  motive  power  and  impair  efficiency 
of  the  exhaust  system.  Pipes  should  not  be  too  long,  for  increase  in 
length  increases  the  resistance  too  and  also  the  road  by  which  the 
dust  travels.  It  is  best  that  pipes  should  be  straight,  without 
bends  or  angles,  for  nothing  increases  the  resistance  for  air  as  such 
bends  and  angles.  If  bends  are  necessary,  they  should  be  not  more 
than  at  angles  between  thirty  and  forty-five  degrees. 

The  inner  surface  of  the  duct  should  be  smooth,  so  that  the  dust 
will  not  adhere  to  the  sides  and  surfaces  and  clog  up  the  pipe.  At 
certain  intervals  traps  and  handholes  should  be  made  in  the  pipes. 
The  traps  are  made  to  catch  the  heavier  dust  which  at^  times  is  not 
exhausted;  while  the  handholes,  which  are  covered,  are  for  the 
purpose  of  permitting  the  cleaning  of  the  pipes. 

Engineers  have  a  rule  that  "  the  sum  of  the  area  of  the  branch 


428 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Courtesy  Wm.  C.  Hanson      II.  S.  Dept.  Labor,  x^iletin 

Sand-blasting  Castings  in  Open  Shed. 

The  helmet  shown  does  not  prevent  the  inhalation  of  fine  steel,  iron  and  brass  dust. 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  429 

pipes  must  not  be  greater  than  the  area  of  the  main  pipe."  Wherever 
installations  are  made  for  a  local  exhaust  system,  the  probable 
additions  to  the  machines  which  may  be  needed  to  be  exhausted 
should  be  taken  into  consideration.  It  often  happens  in  a  machine- 
shop  that  only  twenty  or  twenty-five  machines  are  provided  for 
with  branch  exhaust  pipes,  and  the  main  pipe  is  constructed  with  a 
view  to  carry  the  amount  of  dust  exhausted  through  these  twenty- 
five  branch  pipes.  When,  however,  ten,  fifteen,  or  more,  new 
machines  are  added,  and  each  provided  with  branch  pipes,  the 
main  pipe  gets  overloaded  and  the  whole  efficiency  of  the  ventilat- 
ing system  is  in  peril.  The  size  and  length  of  the  branch  pipes,  as  well 
as  of  the  main  pipe,  is  an  engineering  problem  which  must  be  con- 
sidered with  every  case. 

The  following  rules  as  to  the  installation  of  pipes,  etc.,  by  proper 
ventilating  exhausts  are  of  interest: 

"  Never  attach  a  branch  at  right  angles  to  the  main.  Two 
branches  should  never  enter  the  main  directly  opposite  one  another; 
also  avoid  the  use  of  Y-branches,  as  the  two  currents  in  conflict 
retard  the  flow,  sometimes  causing  the  pipes  to  clog. 

Elbows  should  have  a  radius  in  the  throat  twice  the  diameter 
of  the  pipe.  For  example,  a  6-inch  pipe  should  have  a  radius  of 
12  inches  in  the  throat.  There  is  no  advantage  in  making  the  radius 
more  than  twice  the  diameter.  A  right-angle  elbow  in  a  6-inch 
pipe  offers  as  much  resistance  as  a  straight  pipe  of  the  same  diameter 
44  feet  long.  With  a  radius  of  half  the  diameter,  it  is  equal  to  a 
straight  pipe  15  feet  long.  With  a  radius  of  one  diameter,  it  is  equal 
to  a  straight  pipe  5|  feet  long.  With  a  radius  of  two  diameters, 
it  is  equal  to  a  straight  pipe  2J  feet  long.  By  making  the  radius 
more  than  twice,  the  resistance  begins  to  increase  again  until  at 
six  diameters  it  is  equal  to  a  straight  pipe  3  feet  long.  This  is  due 
to  the  greater  distance  the  air  is  under  compression  on  one  side 
of  the  pipe  while  making  the  turn. 

Friction  of  the  air  traveling  through  the  pipes  is  another  and 
very  essential  point  for  consideration,  and  it  must  be  determined 
in  order  to  know  the  minimum  speed  at  which  the  fan  can  be  run. 
Careful  experiments  have  shown  that  a  length  of  round  pipe  from 
62  to  72  times  its  diameter  will  produce  friction  equivalent  to 
the  velocity  head,  the  shorter  length  applying  to  small  pipes, 
because  of  the  relatively  greater  resistance  the  roughness  of  the 
surface  presents  per  unit  of  volume.  In  actual  practice,  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  allow  about  40  diameters,  to  compensate  for  branch  tees, 
reducers,  dents,  etc.  The  refuse  carried  along  by  the  air  also  increases 
the  resistance  somewhat."  * 

*  F.  R.  Still:  "  Removal  of  Refuse  and  Waste  by  Fans  and  Blowers."     Read  at  Semi- 
Annual  Meeting,  1912,  American  Society  of  Heating  and  Ventilating  Engineers. 


430  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  type  of  fan  which  is  used  for  exhausting  dust  differs  accord- 
ing to  the  work  to  be  done.  Only  in  comparatively  small  establish- 
ments with  large  pipes  and  with  not  too  great  amounts  of  dust 
may  the  propeller  type  of  fan  be  used.  As  a  rule,  the  resistance 
is  too  great  for  this  type  of  fan  and  centrifugal  fans  are  used  almost 
exclusively.  The  type  and  size  are  of  great  importance,  as  is  also 
the  velocity  of  the  revolutions  of  the  fan.  These  matters  must  be 
calculated  according  to  many  factors  which  vary  with  each  establish- 
ment. 

If  a  series  of  exhaust  pipes  are  connected  with  one  fan,  it  is  of 
great  importance  that  the  strength  and  velocity  of  the  air-exhaust 
should  be  equal  in  all  pipes;  as  it  sometimes  happens  when  the 
velocity  is  too  great  in  one  series  or  branch  of  pipes  that  the  others 
will  be  left  with  an  insufficient  power  to  draw  off  all  the  dust. 

There  are  a  number  of  more  or  less  ingenious  methods  of  testing 
the  velocity  of  the  flow  of  air  in  the  pipes,  these  devices  ranging 
from  anemometers  to  a  simple  smoke  test.  This  latter  is  accom- 
plished by  burning  paper  and  noticing  the  force  of  the  drawing-in 
of  the  smoke  from  the  burning  paper  into  the  opening  of  the  pipe. 

The  motive  power  used  for  driving  fans  may  be  taken  from  the 
general  motive  power  of  the  factory.  Some  manufacturers  prefer 
to  install  special  motors  for  the  ventilating  exhaust  system,  in  order 
to  determine  the  horse-power  needed  and  the  amount  of  power  used 
up  during  a  certain  time,  so  as  to  be  able  to  calculate  the  cost  of  the 
running  of  the  ventilating  system. 

The  method  of  disposal  of  the  dust  gathered  through  an  exhaust 
ventilating  system  depends  largely  upon  the  character  of  the  dust. 
Dust  which  may  be  utilized  for  burning  purposes,  such  as  wood 
dust,  may  be  sent  direct  through  the  exhaust  system  into  the  fur- 
naces. Dust  may  also  be  wetted  and  sprayed.  When  a  factory 
is  situated  in  isolated  localities  the  dust  may  be  sent  through  tall 
chimneys;  while  in  thickly  inhabited  places  the  dust  must  be  sep- 
arated by  various  devices  constructed  for  this  purpose  and  then 
subjected  to  treatment,  collected,  and  otherwise  disposed  of.  Most 
separators  use  centrifugal  force.  The  "  cyclone  "  separator  is  an 
efficient  means  for  collecting  dust,  and  is  used  in  a  great  number  of 
industrial  establishments. 

It  is  sometimes  necessary  to  have  local  removal  of  dust  by 
portable  apparatus  without  the  installation  of  hoods,  pipes,  fans, 
etc.  This  is  notably  the  case  in  cleaning  type-cases  in  printing 
places,  in  removing  dust  from  places  for  which  it  is  difficult  to  pro- 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  431 

vide  a  permanent  local  exhaust  and  in  freeing  machinery  from 
accumulated  dust.  The  cleaning  of  such  dusty  places  by  blowers, 
or  by  dry  rags,  brushes,  and  feather  dusters  is  very  harmful  to  health. 
There  are  at  present  a  number  of  portable  vacuum  cleaning  apparata, 
with  instruments  fitted  for  every  special  kind  of  cleaning. 

Wherever  an  efficient  local  exhaust  system  of  ventilation  is 
installed,  some  means  should  also  be  provided  for  the  incoming  of  a 
large  amount  of  air;  otherwise  the  exhaust  of  the  air  through  the 
ventilating  pipes  will  encounter  a  great  deal  of  resistance,  espe- 
cially when  the  doors  and  windows  of  the  room  are  tightly  closed. 

It  is  also  necessary  in  every  large  plant  where  there  is  a  system 
of  exhaust  ventilation  to  appoint  an  inspector  or  supervisor,  so 
that  the  whole  plant,  the  hoods,  pipes,  fans,  blowers,  and  dust- 
separators,  etc.,  should  be  frequently  inspected  and  defects  speedily 
remedied. 

Protection  of  Workers.  In  spite  of  all  the  methods  of  prevent- 
ing the  formation  of  dust,  of  the  separation  of  the  dusty  processes 
from  the  workers,  and  the  best  methods  of  local  exhaust  ventilation, 
there  will  be  a  certain  amount  of  industrial  dust,  which  is  very  dif- 
ficult to  prevent  or  remove.  Whether  there  are  any  general  pre- 
ventive measures  adopted  or  not,  the  workers  should  always  be  pro- 
tected as  much  as  possible  against  the  action  of  dust. 

The  protection  of  workers  against  dust  may  be  accomplished 
by  the  following  measures:  (1)  cleanliness  of  the  shop;  (2)  proper 
clothing;  (3)  facilities  for  washing  and  bathing;  (4)  respirators; 
(5)  change  of  work;  (6)  medical  examination;  (7)  medical  super- 
vision; (8)  education. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  here  upon  the  necessity  for  proper 
removal  of  dust  and  dirt  from  shops  and  factories  and  for  an  efficient 
system  of  cleaning  of  the  walls,  ceilings,  floors,  and  other  surfaces 
within  the  shop.  This  matter  has  already  been  referred  to  in  previous 
chapters.  Much  depends  upon  the  proper  construction  of  the  fac- 
tories; still  much  more  upon  proper  supervision  by  owners.  In 
every  large  industrial  establishment  special  persons  should  be 
designated  for  cleaning  purposes.  In  all  shops  where  a  great  deal 
of  dust  is  deposited  upon  walls,  girders,  and  other  surfaces,  this 
dust  should  be  removed  by  the  wet  process,  by  the  hose,  if  possible, 
or  by  portable  vacuum  cleaners.  There  is  no  sense  in  providing  a 
local  exhaust  system  of  ventilation  in  an  industrial  plant  for  remov- 
ing the  dust  from  the  machines  and  dusty  processes,  and  at  the  same 
time  leaving  inches  of  dust  upon  girders,  walls,  floors,  etc. 


432 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Workers  in  all  dusty  trades  and  processes  should  not  wear  their 
clothing  which  they  bring  from  home,  but  should  be  provided  by 
the  owners  of  the  establishment  with  clothing  specially  appropriate 
for  their  work.  Different  workers  require  some  variation  in  the 
material  and  in  the  kind  of  the  clothing  worn.  Wherever  dry  dust 

in  abundance  is  produced, 
a      smooth      tight-meshed 
cotton  cloth  should  be  used 
for  overalls.     At  times  it  is 
advantageous  to  have  the 
surfaces  treated  with  some 
material  which  makes  them 
smooth    and  easily   wiped 
off,   so  that  the  dust  does 
not   adhere,   or  if  it   does 
adhere,    it    can    easily    be 
washed  off  from  the  cloth- 
ing.    Overalls  and  clothing 
to  be  worn  in  dusty  places 
should  be  well-fitting   and 
cover    the     whole     body. 
Attention    must    be    paid 
especially    to     the     head- 
covering,  as  the  dust  which 
falls    upon    the    hair   and 
head   is    difficult  to  clean. 
Tight-fitting  caps  are  often 
worn  by  men  and  women, 
and  one  who  takes  one  of 
these  caps    and    shakes    it 
may  readily  see  the  amount 
of  dust  which  accumulates 
upon    it    during    a    day's 


New  York  State  Factory  Commission. 

Packer  of  Bleach  or  Chloride  of  Lime. 

Wears  several  thicknesses  of  moistened  white 
flannel  over  his  mouth  and  draws  breath  only  through 
this. 


work. 


Wherever  the  dust  is  of  an  irritating  character,  gloves  should 
be  provided  by  the  employer  and  worn  by  the  employe.  The  mere 
provision  of  gloves  does  not  always  mean  that  they  are  being  worn 
by  the  workers.  The  gloves  which  are  usually  provided  are  too 
large  and  fit  so  badly  that  workers  are  loth  to  wear  them.  They 
also  claim  that  the  wearing  of  gloves  interferes  much  with  their 
dexteritv  and  the  amount  of  work  thev  can  do.  Owners  should 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  433 

especially  insist  that  gloves  be  worn  in  all  dusty  processes  where 
dust  is  of  a  poisonous  or  irritating  character.  A  great  many  indus- 
tries have  their  own  peculiar  uniforms  and  clothing  which  their 
workers  habitually  wear,  and  which  were  found  bythem  after  years 
of  experience  and  practice  to  be  the  best  fitted  for  .the  purpose. 
Thus,  we  find  special  uniforms  worn  by  foundry  workers,  by  chim- 
ney-sweeps, and  many  other  groups  of  workers.  Reference  has 
been  made  in  a  previous  chapter  to  the  necessity  of  wearing  special- 
fitting  shoes  and  boots  in  foundries.  This  is  also  necessary  in  other 
trades  where  it  is  important  to  prevent  dust  from  penetrating  to 
the  skin  of  the  workers. 

The  necessity  for  providing  washing  facilities  in  all  factories 
and  workshops  is  especially  patent  in  factories  where  much  dust 
is  produced,  particularly  dust  of  an  irritating  and  poisonous  char- 
acter. Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  need  of  proper 
wash-basins,  supplied  with  warm  water,  of  a  supply  of  soap  and  towels, 
and  also  of  the  necessity  for  providing  bathing  facilities  either  in 
the  form  of  shower-baths  or  tub-baths  in  such  factories. 

More  necessary  even  than  the  provision  of  fixtures  for  wash- 
ing and  bathing  is  an  intelligent  supervision  of  the  washing  and 
bathing  arrangements.  I  have  already  more  than  once  referred  to 
the  excellent  practice  of  one  large  company  in  granting  their  employes 
from  five  to  ten  minutes  extra  time  at  the  noon  hour  for  washing  up 
purposes,  in  providing  a  separate  wash-room  with  a  large  number 
of  wash-basins  supplied  with  hot  and  cold  water,  soap,  towels,  and 
locker-rooms;  and  arranging  for  one  or  two  of  the  foremen  to 
supervise  the  washing  arrangements  and  stand  at  the  door  of  the 
wash-room  to  examine  the  hands  of  all  those  who  are  through  with 
their  ablutions,  thus  assuring  a  proper  performance  of  this  most 
necessary  function.  Washing  and  bathing  are  good  means  of 
preventing  many  skin  and  other  diseases  which  are  due  to  irritation 
and  penetration  of  dust  particles. 

The  problem  of  preventing  dust  from  entering  the  nose  and  mouth 
is  a  most  difficult  one.  There  are  trades  and  processes  in  which 
it  seems  to  be  impossible  in  the  present  state  of  science  to  prevent 
a  large  quantity  of  dust  from  being  inhaled  through  the  nose  and 
mouth.  There  are  processes,  like  sandpapering  walls  and  sand-blast- 
ing, in  which  it  has  been  impossible  to  invent  an  adequate  method 
of  removing  the  dust  and  preventing  the  workers  from  inhaling  it. 
In  such,  and  similar  cases,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  worker 
to  wear  some  kind  of  apparatus  which,  while  permitting  him  to 


434  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

freely  inspire  and  expire,  would  at  the  same  time  catch,  filter,  and 
make  harmless  the  dust  in  which  he  works. 

The  number  of  respirators  which  have  been  devised  for  this 
purpose  cannot  be  counted.  Every  one  who  studies  the  subject 
and  every  manager  and  foreman  in  a  shop  has  his  own  invention. 
As  a  result,  there  are  hundreds  of  different  kinds  of  respirators, 
whose  inventors  insist  that  theirs  is  the  best  on  the  market.  I  have 
seen  in  the  Charlottenburg  Museum  of  Safety,  in  Berlin,  all  kinds 
of  respirators,  some  of  them  as  light  as  feathers,  others  weighing 
from  twenty  to  thirty  pounds. 

Besides  respirators,  head-gears  and  oxygen-helmets  are  fre- 
quently used.  Some  of  these  arrangements  look  like  divers' 
uniforms,  and  all  of  them  are  heavy,  unsightly,  and  uncom- 
fortable. 

Workers,  as  a  rule,  strenuously  object  to  the  wearing  of 
respirators.  Their  objections  are  that  these  respirators  are  unsightly r 
that  they  are  uncomfortable,  that  they  become  instruments  of  tor- 
ture, that  they  interfere  with  work,  and  especially  that  they  interfere 
with  comfortable  breathing.  One  who  sees  a  worker  with  a  respira- 
tor cannot  blame  him  for  objecting  to  wearing  it.  All  respirators 
are  uncomfortable,  because  they  obstruct  expiration  and  inspiration, 
increase  the  amount  of  heat  and  moisture  around  the  nose  and 
mouth,  dim  eyeglasses,  heat  the  surfaces  around  the  nose,  mouth f 
and  chin,  chafe  the  skin  by  the  bands  with  which  they  are  fastened,, 
prevent  the  workers  from  speaking,  giving  orders,  or  answering  the 
foremen,  and  generally  are  an  unnatural  and  abnormal  method  of 
wearing  what  the  workers  call  a  "  muzzle." 

In  some  trades  the  workers  cannot  do  without  some  kind  of 
respirator,  and  at  times  they  improvise  their  own,  which  they  claim 
are  better  than  those  given  to  them  by  the  employers.  Thus,  the 
bleach-workers  (see  page  432)  usually  wear  when  they  go  into 
the  bleach  chambers  a  "  muzzle  "  of  six  or  seven  folds  of  flannel, 
through  which  they  inspire,  leaving  expiration  free.  The  bleach- 
workers  claim  that  it  takes  a  long  time  for  a  man  to  become  habit- 
uated to  the  wearing  of  a  muzzle  and  to  be  able  to  expire  properly 
through  the  nose,  while  inspiring  through  the  mouth.  These 
muzzles  are  only  worn  from  ten  to  fifteen  minutes  when  within  the 
bleach  chambers.  It  is  doubtful  whether  such  muzzles  could  be 
worn  for  longer  periods.  In  sand-blasting  and  sandpapering  of 
painted  surfaces  at  the  Pullman  Works  in  Illinois,  all  workers  are 
compelled  to  use  respirators,  as  per  illustration,  this  order  being 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  435 

very  strict.  I  was  told  that  a  foreman  who  was  found  working 
without  his  respirator  had  been  discharged. 

The  principal  part  of  a  respirator  is  the  filtering  material,  which 
is  designed  to  catch  the  dust  and  prevent  it  from  being  inhaled. 
Such  filtering  material  is  usually  made  of  tight-meshed  cotton,  or 
other  material ;  and  the  smaller  the  meshes  are  the  better  the  respira- 
tor is  for  the  purpose  of  catching  dust,  but  the  more  difficult  for 
breathing  purposes.  There  are  as  yet  very  few  respirators  on  the 
market  which  are  free  from  all  objections. 

Cover's  automatic  rubber  respirator  is  claimed  to  have  excellent 
advantages  for  use  in  dusty  trades,  especially  where  poisonous 
gases  and  dusts  are  produced.  It  is  provided  with  a  closed  and 
protected  automatic  ventilating  valve  which  operates  under  all 
conditions,  thus  securing  proper  ventilation  of  the  respirator  and 
preventing  breathing  over  and  over  again 
of  the  inhaled  air.  The  filtering  material 
and  its  arrangement  in  the  respirator 
should  be  such  that  the  air  will  be  purified 
while  passing  through  it.  A  fine  damp 
sponge  or  a  wet  silk  cloth  are  among  the 
best  known  filtering  materials  for  separating 
impurities  from  the  air,  and  when  these  two 
valuable  filtering  materials  are  combined 
in  their  action,  as  they  are  in  Cover's 
combination  filter,  it  is  claimed  that  it  is 

a  difficult  matter  for  smoke,  fumes,  and  gases  to  pass  the  silk  cloth 
in  contact  with  the  wet  sponge.  The  respirator  is  simple  and  is 
small  in  size.  Some  workers  object  to  the  irritation  of  the  skin 
by  the  rubber  adhering  to  the  face  and  the  metallic  click  of  the 
valve. 

Change  of  Work.  The  human  body  has  remarkable  powers  of 
recuperation  and  of  self -protection.  Only  when  the  action  of  harm- 
ful influences  is  constant  and  very  prolonged  does  the  body  succumb 
to  them.  Whenever  there  are  trades  or  processes  in  which  very 
much  dust  is  produced,  and  which  cannot  be  prevented  for  one  or 
more  reasons,  it  should  be  the  cardinal  principle  of  intelligent 
employers  to  make  frequent  changes  in  the  work  of  their  employes, 
to  give  them  frequent  rest  periods,  to  take  the  workers  away  from 
the  dusty  trades  for  some  time  in  the  free  air,  so  that  the  action  of 
the  dust  is  not  too  constant  and  the  body  can  have  a  chance  to 
readjust  itself  and  recover  from  the  injurious  influences. 


436  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

Physical  Examination.  The  reason  why  so  many  workers  suc- 
cumb to  the  injurious  effects  of  dust  in  the  dusty  trades,  and 
why  the  percentage  of  fibroid  and  tubercular  phthisis  is  so  great, 
is  because  a  number  of  workers  enter  these  trades  with  a  physical 
constitution  already  undermined  by  disease  or  bad  habits,  and  are 
unfit  to  withstand  the  harmful  influences  in  dusty  trades.  No 
one  but  robust,  physically  fit,  and  perfectly  healthy  persons  should 
be  allowed  to  take  up  any  dangerous  trade. 

In  order  to  prevent  the  influx  of  weak  persons  into  dusty  trades 
it  is  necessary  to  provide  for  a  preliminary  medical  examination 
in  all  dusty  establishments.  Industrial  efficiency  is  not  an  engineer- 
ing problem  alone;  it  is  also  a  medical  problem.  The  industrial 
establishment  is  badly  equipped  if  it  only  consists  of  the  technical 
engineer,  mechanic,  and  superintendent.  The  human  factor  in  an 
industrial  establishment  is  of  far  greater  importance  than  the 
machinery  and  the  mechanical  devices  within  the  establishment. 
More  important  even  than  the  testing  of  all  machinery  coming 
into  the  factory  by  the  engineer  and  technical  expert  is  the 
compulsory  examination  of  all  the  human  machines  by  properly 
qualified  medical  practitioners.  A  rigid  physical  examination 
of  all  employes  should  be  a  sine  qua  non  in  every  industrial 
establishment.  Only  by  such  examination  would  the  weak  and 
physically  unfit,  the  human  derelicts,  be  excluded  from  industrial 
life.  Only  by  such  a  practice  would  work  in  dusty  trades  become 
less  dangerous  and  deadly,  and  the  percentage  of  disease,  especially 
of  tuberculosis  and  occupational  mortality,  be  reduced. 

Physical  examination  of  workers  before  entering  the  establish- 
ment is  not  sufficient.  It  is  only  the  first  step.  The  human  machine 
as  well  as  the  mechanical  engine  needs  not  only  to  be  tested  when 
it  comes  into  the  establishment,  but  should  be  subjected  to  peri- 
odical tests  and  examinations.  For  this,  a  medical  supervision  of 
industry  is  necessary. 

The  time  is  surely  not  distant  when  every  factory  and  workshop, 
no  matter  how  large  or  small,  will  count  among  its  superintendents 
not  only  mechanically  and  technically  trained  men,  but  also  educated 
physicians.  Workers,  especially  in  dusty  trades,  should  be  sub- 
jected to  periodical  examinations  every  three  months  at  least,  if 
not  oftener,  their  condition  of  health  carefully  noted,  all  the  symp- 
toms of  incipient  disease  marked,  and  preventive  measures  taken 
to  remove  them  from  work  which  seems  to  be  injurious,  and  to  treat 
the  initial  symptoms  in  order  to  prevent  further  inroads  of  disease. 


INDUSTRIAL  DUSTS  AND  DUSTY  TRADES  437 

Medical  supervision  should  not  limit  itself  only  to  the  preliminary 
and  periodical  medical  examination  of  the  employe,  but  should 
go  further.  It  should  be  properly  equipped  for  acting  in  an  educa- 
tional capacity,  for  supervising  not  only  the  worker's  health  but 
also  his  habits,  his  mode  of  nutrition,  his  clothing,  and  for  prevent- 
ing the  influences  of  improper  home  surroundings.  Medical  super- 
vision should  also  take  over  the  function  of  educating  the  worker 
in  the  dangers  of  his  trade,  of  instructing  him  in  the  risks  of  his 
occupation,  and  of  teaching  him  all  modes  and  methods  of  prevention. 


CHAPTER   X 
INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES 

THE  risks  of  industrial  life  and  the  hazards  of  occupations 
described  in  the  previous  chapters  are  only  a  part  of  the  dangers 
of  trades.  The  accidents  and  the  injuries  arising  from  faulty 
construction,  defective  light  and  illumination,  poor  sanitation 
and  ventilation,  improper  safeguarding  of  machinery  and  indus- 
trial dusts  are,  at  least  in  the  majority  of  cases,  not  inherent  to 
all  industry.  There  are  many  occupations,  however,  which  have 
their  specific  dangers  which  at  present  seem  to  be  unavoidable. 
These  dangers  cause  injuries  and  lesions  which  are  embraced  under 
the  general  name  of  occupational  diseases. 

By  occupational  diseases  are  meant  such  groups  of  symptoms 
and  pathological  changes  in  the  body  as  are  due  more  or  less  directly 
to  the  occupation  in  which  the  worker  is  engaged. 

Some  of  the  occupational  diseases  and  their  causes  are  outside 
of  the  scope  of  this  work.  Among  the  diseases  which  will  not  be 
discussed  are  those  caused  by  extreme  variations  in  air  pressure, 
such  as  caisson  disease;  those  caused  by  over-fatigue,  such  as 
neuritis,  "telegrapher's  cramp,"  "  shoemaker's  spasm,"  etc.; 
those  caused  by  specific  infectious  bacteria  in  industry,  such  as 
anthrax  of  the  wool-sorters  and  hair-,  bristle-,  hide-  and  skin-work- 
ers; ankylostomiasis  of  miners  and  tunnel-workers;  tetanus  occur- 
ring among  jute  and  other  workers;  glanders  of  those  who  attend 
horses,  etc.;  and  many  other  industrial  diseases.  Only  a  limited 
number  of  occupational  diseases  and  but  a  few  of  the  dangerous 
trades  will  be  discussed  in  this  chapter. 

I 
THE  POISONS,   GASES   AND   FUMES   AND   THEIR  EFFECTS 

Extent  of  Dangers.  Certain  industries,  trades  and  industrial 
establishments  employ  materials  or  processes  which  evolve  toxic 
elements  either  in  the  form  of  dust  or  in  the  form  of  gases  and  fumes. 

438 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  439 

The  industries  and  trades  in  which  some  dangerous  elements 
are  present  are  numerous.  Poisonous  materials  are  employed,  or 
deleterious  gases  and  fumes  are  evolved  in  most  of  the  chemical 
trades,  in  the  majority  of  the  metal  industries,  in  the  textile  indus- 
try and  in  many  other  trades. 

The  extent  of  occupational  diseases  cannot  be  determined 
for  the  reason  that  statistical  data  are  very  incomplete  and  that 
compulsory  reporting  of  industrial  poisoning  and  occupational 
diseases  has  only  been  recently  enacted  in  a  few  states. 

The  First  National  Conference  on  Industrial  Diseases  held 
in  Chicago  in  1910  attempted  to  estimate  the  probable  extent  of 
industrial  diseases  in  the  United  States.  The  estimate  was  that 
there  were  in  1910  approximately  13,400,000  cases  of  sickness  due 
to  industrial  diseases,  with  a  total  of  284,750,000  days  of  sickness 
and  a  loss  in  wages  of  $366,107,145.* 

In  the  memorial  of  this  conference,  the  paucity  of  data  on  the 
subject  of  mortality  and  morbidity  from  occupational  diseases 
is  deplored  and  comparison  is  made  with  the  better  statistical 
data  to  be  found  in  other  countries,  especially  in  Germany.  Refer- 
ence is  also  made  in  the  memorial  to  the  striking  death  rate  from 
pulmonary  tuberculosis  among  certain  workers  in  the  United 
States.  The  figures  of  the  United  States  Census  for  1908  are  quoted 
which  show  that  the  proportion  of  deaths  from  tuberculosis  of  the 
lungs,  among  workers  between  the  ages  of  25  to  34,  was,  for  printers 
and  compositors  49.2  per  cent,  glass-workers  40.5  per  cent,  hatters 
56.9  per  cent,  lead-workers,  52.2  per  cent,  marble-  and  stone- 
workers  41.1  per  cent,  and  textile-workers  39.8  per  cent.f 

Without  a  system  of  state  sickness  insurance  and  with  faulty 
methods  of  occupational  designations  and  statistics,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  even  guess  at  the  extent  of  occupational  diseases  due  to 
industrial  poisons,  gases  and  fumes  in  American  industries.  There 
is  one  group,  however,  the  so-called  chemical  industries,  from 
which  some  figures  may  be  obtained.  The  range  of  the  chemical 
industry  is  very  wide  and  includes  among  its  manufactures  the 
making  of  acids,  alkalies,  drugs,  dyes  and  related  compounds. 
It  also  includes  technically  the  smelting  and  refining  of  metals, 
manufacture  of  coke,  glass,  cement,  rubber,  glucose,  chemical 
pulp  fibre,  fermented  and  distilled  liquors,  starch  and  sugar,  finish- 
ing of  textiles,  tanning  of  leather,  and  many  other  processes  of  indus- 
trial activity. 

*  Memorial  on  Occupational  Diseases,  p.  3. 
flbid.,  p.   13. 


440  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  United  States  Census  of  Manufactures  for  1910  includes 
under  the  heading  of  chemical  and  allied  products  some  25  or  26 
separate  industries,  from  the  manufacture  of  axle  grease,  baking 
and  yeast  powders,  explosives  and  fertilizers,  to  the  manufacture 
of  soap,  salt,  starch  and  wood  distillates.  The  Census  gives  the 
growth  of  the  chemical  industry  in  the  United  States  as  follows: 

In  1900  there  were  8820  establishments  with  185,515  wage- 
earners;  in  1910  there  were  11,863  establishments  with  242,961 
wage-earners.  The  capital  invested  had  increased  for  the  ten 
years  from  $1,180,000  to  $2,053,000,  and  the  value  of  products 
had  also  doubled.* 

The  large  increase  in  the  chemical  industry  has  also  been  fol- 
lowed by  a  very  large  increase  in  the  extent  of  occupational  dis- 
eases produced  by  this  industry  and  in  the  increased  number  of 
persons  suffering  from  industrial  poisons,  gases  and  fumes.  This 
is  true  of  the  chemical  industry  abroad  as  well  as  in  the  United 
States. 

Leymann  found  in  one  chemical  establishment  of  1000  workers, 
285  cases  of  poisoning  in  a  period  of  less  than  twenty-three  years. 
Grandhomme  found  122  cases  of  industrial  poisoning  in  three 
years,  f  Schneider  J  cites  statistics  from  Austria  in  which  the 
cases  of  occupational  disease  in  the  chemical  industries  exceeds 
all  others  by  137  per  cent  at  certain  age  periods  and  at  others 
by  50  to  91  per  cent.  He  also  quotes  Weyl,  who  has  shown  an 
increase  in  cases  of  diseases  in  the  chemical  industry  over  all  other 
industries  of  more  than  120  per  cent. 

In  certain  white-lead  factories,  out  of  580  persons  insured  there 
were  76.63  cases  of  sickness  and  1430  days  of  sickness  per  hundred 
persons.  In  aniline  dye  factories  the  cases  of  sickness  were 
70.63  per  cent  with  1212  days  of  sickness  for  every  hundred 
persons.§ 

There  were  reported  in  Great  Britain  in  1911,  755  cases  of 
industrial  poisoning  besides  263  cases  of  lead  poisoning  which 
were  separately  reported  among  house  painters  and  plumbers.  Of 
these,  669  were  cases  of  lead  poisoning,  12  were  due  to  mercury, 
none  to  phosphorus,  10  to  arsenic  and  64  to  anthrax,  an  infec- 
tious disease.  In  1912  there  was  a  total  of  656  cases  reported 
besides  256  cases  of  lead  poisoning  reported  under  painters  and 

*  Report  of  Director,  Second  Report  of  the  N.  Y.  S.  Factory  Comm.,  p.  460. 
•  Rambousek,  Gewerbliche  Vergiftungen,  p.  2. 
I  Gefahren  der  Arbeit  in  der  chemischen  Industrie,  p.  13. 
§  Ibid,  p.   19. 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  441 

plumbers.  Of  these  587  were  due  to  lead  poisoning,  17  to  mercury, 
and  5  to  arsenic. 

In  the  United  States  only  seven  states  have  established  laws 
for  reporting  of  industrial  poisons,  and  only  very  few  poisons 
are  reported.  During  the  twelvemonth  ending  in  1913,  121 
cases  of  industrial  poisoning,  including  21  fatal  cases,  were 
reported  to  the  Labor  Department  of  New  York  State.  In  the 
same  period  for  the  year  previous  162  cases  were  reported  with 
11  fatal  cases.  Of  the  fatal  cases  25  were  from  chronic  lead  poison- 
ing, 5  from  other  lead  poisoning.* 

Classification.  Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  enumerate 
and  classify  the  various  harmful  substances  used  in  modern  indus- 
try. Such  attempts,  however,  have  invariably  failed  because  of 
the  multiplicity  of  the  morbific  agents  and  of  the  rapid  changes  in 
industrial  life,  especially  in  the  development  of  chemical  industries. 
Enormous  strides  have  been  made  within  the  last  ten  or  twenty 
years  in  all  chemical  processes,  great  secrets  have  been  wrested 
from  nature,  innumerable  inventions  and  discoveries  have  been 
made  which  have  changed  entire  industrial  processes;  and  new 
materials,  products  and  processes  are  daily  cropping  out  whose 
dangers  and  hazards  it  is  difficult  to  estimate. 

Nor  is  the  classification  of  the  various  harmful  substances  an 
easy  matter.  Some  of  them  are  at  times  found  in  the  form  of  dust 
and  at  other  times  in  the  form  of  gases  or  fumes.  There  is  no 
distinct  line  of  demarkation  between  poisons  and  gases.  Some 
substances  belong  to  several  different  chemical  groups  and  a 
scientific  classification  either  by  the  nature  of  the  material,  or  by 
its  form,  or  by  the  industry,  or  chemical  group  to  which  it  belongs 
is  extremely  difficult. 

The  committee  of  experts  of  the  International  Association 
for  Labor  Legislation  which  was  to  make  a  classification  of  indus- 
trial poisons,  confessed  its  inability  to  present  a  classification 
according  to  the  harmfulness  of  the  substances  or  to  the  branches 
of  industry  in  which  they  are  used.  In  their  list  of  poisons  which 
was  prepared  and  later  issued  by  the  Department  of  Commerce 
and  Labor,  the  enumeration  and  classification  of  the  industrial 
poisons  is  according  to  alphabetical  arrangement. 

The  following  is  a  selection  from  the  enumeration  of  the  sub- 
stances which  is  included  in  the  list  of  industrial  poisons,  f 

*  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  New  York  State,  1913,  p.  59. 
t  List  of  Industrial  Poisons,  Bulletin  of  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  100. 


442 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


Substances 


AMMONIA 


ANILINE  AND  ANILINE  COLORS 


ANTIMONY  AND  COMPOUNDS 


ARSENIC  AND  COMPOUNDS 


BENZINE  AND  BENZOL 


BRASS  AND  ITS  COMPOUNDS 
CARBON  MONOXIDE 


Industries  in  which  They  Occur 

Ovens,  mirror-silvering  industry, 
coating  iron  plate  with  tin  zinc, 
manufacture  of  solidified  am- 
monia, sulphide  and  chloride  of 
ammonia,  sal-ammoniac,  manu- 
facture of  carbonate  of  soda, 
dyeing  industry,  manufacture 
of  bone-black,  varnish  and  lac- 
quer manufacture,  tanning, 
manufacture  of  ice  and  refrig- 
eration plants. 

Manufacture  of  aniline  and  its  de- 
rivatives as  well  as  of  aniline 
dyes,  manufacture  of  photo- 
graphic materials,  aniline  dye 
factories,  dye  houses,  manu- 
facture of  explosives,  etc. 

Preparation  of  type  and  white 
metal,  fireworks,  paints,  pot- 
tery glazes,  red  rubber,  tartar 
emetic,  burnishing  of  rifle  barrels 
and  steel  ware,  manufacture  of 
antimony  wares,  stereotype 
metal,  ammunition  factories, 
remelting  of  old  and  scrap  metal, 
paint  making,  etc. 

Mining,  manufacture  of  glass, 
colored  chalks,  aniline  and  other 
dyes,  wall  paper,  oil  cloth,  arti- 
ficial flowers,  tanning,  fur  cur- 
ing, felt-hat  making,  pottery 
glazing,  making  artificial  stones, 
paints,  taxidermy,  preparation 
of  organic  dye  stuffs,  etc. 

Benzine  distillation,  chemical 
cleaning  plants,  removal  of  fat 
from  bones,  for  solvents,  lac- 
quer, varnish  and  India  rub- 
ber industries,  waterproof  mate- 
rials, dye  works,  illuminating- 
and  water-gas  factories,  etc. 

In  bronze,  bronzing  and  allied 
industries. 

In  illuminating  gas,  water-gas 
and  producing-gas  manufacture, 
coal  mines,  blast  furnaces,  coke 
ovens,  smelting  furnaces,  gas 
machines,  foundries  and  where- 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES 


443 


Substances 


Industries  in  which  They  Occur 


CARBON  BISULPHIDE 


CHLORINE 


CHROMIUM 


HYDROCHLORIC  ACID 


ever  illuminating  gas  is  used,  or 
heating  with  coal  is  done  with- 
out special  precautions. 

Extraction  of  fats  and  oils,  sulphur 
from  gas-washing  materials, 
vulcanization  of  rubber,  prepa- 
ration of  chlorine  compounds, 
dissolving  of  fats  and  treating 
rags,  bones  and  raw  materials, 
oil  factories,  etc. 

Manufacture  of  chlorine,  chloride 
of  lime,  organic  chlorine,  bleach- 
eries,  paper  mills,  laundries, 
ironing,  manufacture  of  chlorine 
disinfectants,  chloroform,  etc. 

Manufacture  of  chrome  steel,  min- 
eral tanning,  bleaching,  chrome 
colors,  oxidizing  agent  in  the 
card-color  industry,  manufac- 
ture of  Swedish  matches,  bleach- 
ing, fats,  oil  and  wax,  staining 
of  wood,  etc. 

Potteries,  enameling,  manufac- 
ture of  acid,  glass  factories, 
manufacture  of  chloride,  arti- 
ficial fertilizers,  bleaching,  cot- 
ton-print works,  India  rubber, 
etc. 

LEAD,  ALLOYS,  COMPOUNDS,  ETC.     In  lead  mining,  manufacture  of 

various  lead  products,  in  prepa- 
ration of  lead  pigments,  in  pot- 
tery glazing,  painting,  varnish- 
ing and  in  hundreds  of  different 
processes  in  which  lead  or  its 
compounds  are  used  in  one  form 
or  another. 

Mining,  smelting,  extraction  of 
gold  and  silver,  making  of  mir- 
rors, thermometers,  barometers 
and  other  scientific  instruments, 
photography,  taxidermy,  arti- 
ficial flowers,  antiseptics,  rub- 
ber industry,  etc. 

In  distillation  of  wood  and  refining, 
in  varnishes,  lacquers,  polishes, 
perfumes,  in  denatured  alcohol, 
in  the  production  of  coal  tar 
colors  and  pharmaceutical  prep- 


MERCURY 


METHYL  ALCOHOL 


444  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

Substances  Industries  in  which  They  Occur 

arations,  in  electroplating,  pol- 
ishing and  many  other  proc- 
esses. 

NITRO-BENZOL  In   coal-tar   color   industry,   per- 

fumery, soap  factories,  pharma- 
ceutical laboratories,  etc. 

NITEO-GLYCERINE  Manufacture  of  explosives,  use  of 

dynamite. 

NITROUS  GASES  In  manufacture  of  nitric  acid,  in 

electroplating,  in  metal  etching 
and  refining,  manufacture  of 
celluloid,  sulphuric  acid,  aniline 
colors,  etc. 

PHOSPHORUS  In    manufacture    of    phosphorus, 

and  matches. 

SULPHUR,  SULPHUR  CHLORIDE,  In  manufacture  of  sulphur,  in 
SULPHUR  DIOXIDE,  SULPHUR  roasting  of  sulphur-bearing  ores, 
HYDROGEN,  SULPHURIC  ACID  in  manufacture  of  sulphuric 

acid,  and  in  many  industries 
where  one  or  more  of  these 
materials  are  used. 

For  a  fuller  list  see  Bulletin  100,  U.  S.  Dept.  Labor,  or  Dr.  W.  G. 
Thompson's  book  on  "  Occupational  Diseases." 

The  Effects  and  Results  of  Industrial  Poisons.  Of  the  many 
workers  exposed  to  the  action  of  industrial  poisons,  gases  and 
fumes,  not  all  are  affected  alike  by  these  toxic  agents.  A  great 
number  of  the  workers  in  these  trades  seem  to  be  entirely  immune 
and  do  not  suffer  at  all.  Other  workers  succumb  to  the  effects  of 
these  toxic  agents  after  but  a  brief  exposure.  A  prolonged  exposure 
to  the  action  of  the  poisons  seems  to  be  necessary  before  other 
workers  are  affected,  if  at  all.  Observation  and  experience  have 
demonstrated  that  there  are  workers  who  are  extremely  susceptible 
to  industrial  poisons,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  many  of  them 
seem  to  be  very  tolerant  to  their  effects. 

Numerous  examples  are  cited  of  persons  working  daily  for 
many  years  in  places  where  they  are  at  all  times  exposed  to  lead 
poison  who  have  entirely  escaped  the  effect  of  this  poison.  At 
a  hearing  of  the  New  York  State  Factory  Commission  at  Niagara 
Falls,  one  of  the  companies,  in  whose  plant  many  cases  of  lead 
poisoning  were  found  by  the  agents  of  the  Commission,  tried  to 
disprove  the  evidence  by  presenting  affidavits  made  by  employes 
who  claimed  that  they  had  worked  for  over  thirty  years  in  the 
establishment  and  never  had  an  attack  of  lead  poisoning.  On 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  445 

inspection  of  various  establishments  in  the  dangerous  trades  one 
often  meets  workers  who  have  been  exposed  to  the  dangers  of 
poisons,  gases  and  fumes  for  from  ten  to  twenty  and  more  years, 
and  who  deny  to  have  ever  been  affected  by  their  work.  In  a  fac- 
tory where  workers  were  packing  Paris  green  without  any  precau- 
tions whatever  and  where  the  air  was  full  of  arsenical  dust,  I  found 
a  worker  who  has  worked  at  this  process  for  ten  years  without  any 
seeming  effect  upon  his  health.  Another  man  who  came  into  the 
factory  and  worked  for  only  two  hours  had  an  attack  of  acute, 
arsenic  poisoning  from  which  he  died  within  a  week. 

Legge  and  Goadby  cite  the  case  of  two  brothers  working  in 
one  shift  of  men,  who  developed  lead  poisoning,  although  no  other 
persons  in  the  shift  showed  any  signs  of  it.  In  another  factory 
three  sons,  two  daughters  and  a  father,  suffered  from  lead  poison- 
ing within  a  period  of  four  years.  Italians  show  considerably  less 
susceptibility  to  lead  poisoning  than  English  workers  as  long  as  they 
adhere  to  their  own  national  diet;  but  as  soon  as  they  become 
addicted  to  alcohol,  the  resistance  to  lead  poisoning  rapidly 
diminishes.* 

These  and  many  other  cases  which  could  be  cited  demonstrate 
the  fact  of  tolerance  existing  among  workers  to  poisons  and  also 
of  the  extreme  susceptibility  of  other  workers. 

Certain  factors  such  as  age,  sex,  etc.,  have  an  important  bearing 
upon  the  relative  tolerance  and  susceptibility  of  persons  to  the 
effect  of  poisons.  Undoubtedly  children  and  minors  are  more 
liable  to  industrial  poisoning  than  adults.  Hence,  the  unanimity 
in  the  legislation  of  various  countries  in  prohibiting  the  work  of 
young  persons  in  all  factories  where  certain  industrial  poisons 
are  employed.  Women  are  also  said  to  be  more  susceptible  to  the 
effects  of  industrial  poisons  than  males.  According  to  Legge  and 
Goadby, f  females  are,  at  least  twice,  and  probably  three  times, 
as  susceptible  to  lead  poisoning  as  males.  The  liability  of  women 
working  in  lead  factories  to  abortions  and  miscarriages  is  con- 
ceded by  all  writers  on  the  subject. 

Other  persons  who  are  extremely  susceptible  to  the  effect  of 
industrial  poisons  are  those  suffering  from  anaemia,  from  dis- 
eases of  the  excretory  organs,  from  constipation,  from  nephritis, 
enteroptosis,  general  weakness  of  the  constitution,  digestive  dis- 
eases, tuberculosis,  cardiac  trouble,  neurasthenia,  epilepsy  and 

*  Lead  Poisoning  and  Lead  Absorption,  p.  30.  ^ 
t  Ibid,  p.  42. 


446 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  447 

nervous  diseases.  Alcoholics  are  especially  susceptible  to  lead 
poisoning.* 

The  mode  of  entrance  into  the  system  of  an  industrial  poison 
differs  with  the  character  of  the  poison  as  well  as  the  form  in 
which  it  appears,  i.e.,  whether  as  a  dust  or  gas  or  fume.  Some 
poisons  are  absorbed  through  the  unbroken  skin;  most  of  them 
are  absorbed  through  the  digestive  organs  either  by  swallowing  the 
poisonous  dust  or  by  getting  the  poisonous  dust  and  particles  through 
food  contaminated  with  poisonous  materials  and  dusts.  Others 
affect  the  organism  by  inhalation  of  the  gases  and  fumes.  Accord- 
ing to  Teleky,  Kurschmann  and  other  German  scientists,  lead 
is  never  absorbed  through  the  unbroken  skin.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  has  been  shown  that  certain  drugs  applied  to  the  skin  produced 
the  effect  of  these  poisons.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  mer- 
cury and  other  drugs.  The  mode  of  entrance  may  differ  not  only 
according  to  each  poisonous  element,  but  also  according  to  the 
individual  susceptibility  of  the  worker. 

The  season  of  the  year  is  also  said  to  have  an  influence  upon 
the  effect  of  lead;  and  lead  poisoning  is  said  to  be  more  serious 
in  winter  than  in  summer.  Professor  Thompson  quotes  Laureck, 
who  claims  that  71  per  cent  of  cases  arise  in  winter  and  29  per  cent 
in  summer  in  Austria.  On  the  other  hand,  he  cites  several  French 
authors,  who  claim  that  in  France  lead  poisoning  is  twice  as  com- 
mon in  summer  as  in  the  other  seasons.  The  claim  is  also  made 
that  chewing  tobacco  leads  to  lead  poisoning  because  of  its  liability 
to  be  contaminated  with  lead.f 

Rambousek  classifies  industrial  poisons  according  to  their 
effects  as  follows: 

(1)  Poisons    which    act    superficially.     They    are    the    poisons 
which  cause    in  the   organs  which   they  reach    gross    anatomical 
lesions,  irritations,   corrosions,  etc.     To  this  class  belong  irritant 
and  corrosive  poisons. 

(2)  Blood  poisons.     Those  poisons  which  are  absorbed  by  the 
blood  and  which  produce  important  changes  in  it. 

(3)  Poisons    with    definite    internal    action — so-called    remote 
or  specific  effect.     To  this  class  belong  the  poisons  which  after 
being  absorbed  into  the  system  act  upon  the  definite  organs  and 
tissues  in  a  specific  manner.     (Nerve  poisons,  heart  poisons,  etc.)t 

*  L.  Teleky:  Die  Aerztliche  Ueberwachung  und  Begutachtung  der  in  Bleibtreiben  beschaft- 
igten  Arbeiter,  p.  22. 

t  W.  Gilman  Thompson:  The  Occupational  Diseases,  p.  217. 
1  J.  Rambousek:  Industrial  Poisoning,  p.  158. 


448  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

Effects  and  Symptoms  of  Lead  Poisoning.  Lead  toxaemias  are 
either  acute  or  chronic.  The  initial  symptoms  are  pallor  of  the 
i-kin,  general  lassitude,  loss  of  appetite,  nausea,  constipation,  or 
constipation  alternating  with  diarrhoea.  Anaemia,  less  than  90 
per  cent  hemoglobin  on  the  Talquist  instrument,  a  wasting  of  the 
subcutaneous  fat,  first  noticed  in  the  infra-orbital  region,  are  some 
of  the  early  manifestations  of  lead  poisoning.  Another  mani- 
festation which  may  not  appear  early  in  the  history  is  the  so-called 
blue  line  on  the  gums  which  appears  as  a  dark,  blackish  incrusta- 


J.  Rambousek/'  Gewerbllche  Verglftungen." 
Various  Types  of  Wrist-drop  among  Hungarian  Pqtters. 

tion  on  the  edges  of  the  gums,  especially  in  persons  who  suffer 
from  neglected  and  bad  teeth.  Abdominal  colic,  radiating  from 
the  navel  to  the  sides,  pains  in  the  joints,  muscles  and  in  the  back, 
general  nervousness,  persistent  headaches,  dull  mentality,  appear 
either  early  or  later  in  the  history  of  the  case.  Arthritis,  paralysis 
of  certain  muscles,  wrist  drop  and  other  paralyses  appear  later,  as 
well  as  evidence  of  effects  upon  the  secret  cry,  nervous,  vascular 
systems  of  the  body.  Loss  of  weight  is  usually  present  in  many 
cases  of  lead  poisoning,  at  times  also  fever. 

Chronic    lead    poisoning   manifests    itself   in    severe    recurrent 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  449 

headaches,  in  defective  vision,  in  peripheral  neuritis,  in  the  various 
lead  palsies  and,  sometimes,  in  temporary  or  permanent  blindness. 

Effects  and  Symptoms  of  Arsenic  Poisoning.  Arsenical  poison- 
ing by  ingestion  or  through  inhalation  of  arsenical  fumes  has  been 
known  to  cause  acute  poisoning  and  death.  The  effects  of  chronic 
arsenical  poisoning  are  shown  at  first  upon  the  gastro-intestinal 
organs  and  later  upon  the  nervous  system.  The  first  symptoms 
are  nausea,  vomiting,  loss  of  appetite  and  diarrhea.  General  gastro- 
intestinal disturbances  may  also  be  accompanied  by  local  affec- 
tions of  the  eyes,  also  by  ulcers  of  the  nose,  mouth,  hands  and 
feet.  The  later  effects  on  the  nervous  system  show  themselves  in 
multiple  neuritis  and  paralysis  in  the  extremities. 

Effects  and  Symptoms  of  Mercurial  Poisoning.  Mercurial 
poisoning  is  shown  at  first  by  extreme  paleness,  loss  of  weight, 
general  weakness,  headache,  loss  of  muscular  power,  muscular 
pains,  sleeplessness,  a  sallow  complexion,  metallic  taste  in  the 
mouth,  fetid  breath,  at  times  vomiting  and  diarrhea,  inflammation 
of  the  gums,  "  stomatitis  "  and  salivation,  and  later  in  muscular 
tremor  of  the  limbs  and  facial  muscles,  rolling  of  the  eyes  from 
side  to  side,  in  tremors,  a  staggering  and  drunken  gait,  and  a  general 
loss  of  mental  and  muscular  energy. 

Effects  and  Symptoms  of  Phosphorus  Poisoning.  The  symptoms 
of  chronic  phosphorus  poisoning  are  loss  of  appetite,  pallor  of 
the  skin,  diarrhea,  bronchitis  and  gastric  disorders.  The  most 
important  effect  of  phosphorus  poisoning  is  a  painful  subacute 
and  chronic  inflammation  of  the  bones  of  the  jaw,  which  usually 
starts  with  the  roots  of  decayed  teeth  and  results  in  final  necrosis 
of  parts  or  the  whole  of  the  jaw  and  may  sometimes  result  in  total 
loss  of  the  lower  or  upper  jaw. 

Effects  and  Symptoms  of  Chrome  Poisoning.  The  principal  effects 
of  chronic  chrome  poisoning  are  observed  upon  the  skin  in  the  for- 
mation of  chrome  ulcers  in  the  nose  and  upon  various  parts  of  the 
skin.  The  ulcers  are  rarely  superficial,  but  are  usually  perforating 
and  may  be  seen  in  the  nose  of  chrome-workers  not  at  great  dis- 
tance from  the  nostrils.  Some  inflammation  may  also  be  seen  upon 
the  mucous  membrane  of  the  mouth  and  throat.  All  chrome- 
workers  suffer  from  nasal  catarrh,  a  great  many  from  ulceration 
and  a  large  number  from  perforation.  Out  of  176  chrome-work- 
ers, 126  were  found  to  be  suffering  from  perforation  of  the  nasal 
septum,  20  with  ulceration,  and  only  30  had  a  normal  septum.* 

*  Thompson:  Occupational  Diseases,  p.  184. 


450  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

Effects  of  Various  Gases,  Fumes,  Acids  and  Alkalies.  The  effects 
of  working  in  industrial  establishments  where  chemical  acids  are 
being  manufactured  or  worked  with,  or  where  alkali  compounds 
are  manufactured,  and  in  all  places  where  poisonous  gases  or  fumes 
such  as  ammonia,  carbon  monoxide,  chlorine  gas,  bromine,  hydro- 
cyanic gas  or  benzine  are  produced,  vary  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  agent,  the  quantity  absorbed  and  to  various  other  factors. 
Some  of  these  deleterious  agents  act  simply  as  corrosives  or  irri- 
tants upon  the  skin,  cause  burns,  sores  and  erosions,  or  injure  the 
delicate  mucous  membrane  of  the  eyes,  nose  and  throat  with  which 
they  come  in  contact.  Others  affect  the  worker  upon  being  inhaled  ; 
A  number  of  the  gases  and  fumes  may  also  be  absorbed  by  the  blood 
and  cause  acute  or  chronic  intoxications,  some  of  which  may  result 
in  death. 

II 
SOME   OF  THE  DANGEROUS   TRADES 

Of  the  large  number  of  so-called  dangerous  trades,  I  shall  discuss 
here  only  one  or  two  of  the  more  dangerous  lead  trades,  several 
trades  in  which  arsenic  and  mercury  occur,  and  establishments 
in  which  alkalies  and  chemical  acids  are  manufactured. 

The  Dangerous  Lead  Trades.  Lead  poisoning  occurs  in  so 
many  trades  that  it  is  difficult  to  even  enumerate  all  of  them. 
Layet  gives  a  list  of  111  processes  in  which  lead  or  its  salts  are 
being  employed  in  France.  Sir  Thomas  Oliver  states  that  lead  is 
used  in  not  less  than  138  industries.  Professor  W.  Oilman  Thompson 
gives  in  his  list  of  important  lead  trades  86  industries  in  which  lead 
is  used. 

From  the  list  of  the  reported  cases  of  industrial  poisoning  in 
various  countries,  it  appears  that  by  far  the  largest  number  are  due 
to  lead.  Indeed,  they  represent  from  85  to  90  per  cent  of  all  the 
cases  of  industrial  poisoning.  With  the  present  lack  of  diagnostic 
skill  among  general  medical  practitioners,  with  the  laxity  of  the 
reporting  laws,  and  the  absence  of  such  laws  in  many  states  the 
number  of  lead-poisoning  cases  must  be  much  greater  and  cannot 
be  definitely  determined.  In  Great  Britain  there  were  about 
7000  cases  of  lead  poisoning  reported  in  eighteen  industries  in  the 
course  of  ten  years  from  1900  to  1910.  When  Dr.  E.  E.  Pratt 
began  to  make  an  examination  for  the  New  York  State  Factory 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  451 

Commission  in  1911,  he  found  no  less  than  376  cases  of  lead  poison- 
ing recorded  in  New  York  City  alone  in  the  years  between  1909 
and  1911.  The  Illinois  Commission  on  Industrial  Diseases  found 
640  cases  of  plumbism  in  that  state  in  1910.  In  an  investigation 
of  lead  poisoning  in  Perth  Amboy  in  1910,  records  of  94  cases  were 
supplied  by  a  single  physician.  Dr.  Hamilton  reports  that  she 
found  lead  poisoning  in  33  out  of  56  factories  in  the  State  of 
Illinois.* 

Manufacture  of  White  Lead.     A  large  number  of  cases  of  lead 


York'State  Factory  Commission. 
Stripping  the  Corroding  Beds  in  a  White-lead  Factory.     A  Very  Dusty  and 
Dangerous  Operation.     Workmen  not  Protected  by  Respirators. 

poisoning  is  found  in  the  manufacture  of  white  lead  used  for  paints. 
There  are  several  processes  of  manufacture  of  white  lead.  The 
Dutch  process,  which  is  the  oldest  process  in  use,  is  mostly  employed 
in  the  United  States  and  in  England.  The  chamber  process  is  used 
extensively  in  Germany.  There  are  also  several  quick  or  "  pre- 
cipitate "  methods  of  manufacturing  carbonate  of  lead,  which 
are  employed  in  a  limited  number  of  factories  in  the  United  States 
and  abroad. 

*  The  Occupational  Diseases,  Dr.  W.  Gilman  Thompson,  p.  204. 


452 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


The  first  process  of  manufacturing  white  lead  is  that  of  cast- 
ing buckles  or  transforming  the  pig  lead  arriving  into  the  plants 
into  small  thin  disks  of  various  shapes.  In  this  country  this  is  done 
by  machinery  and  the  buckles  are  semicircular  and  perforated. 
In  England,  I  have  seen  the  same  process  done  by  hand  instead 
of  machinery,  and  instead  of  small  buckles  there  are  cast  flat  plates 
about  4  by  12  inches  with  one-half  dozen  holes  punched  through 
them. 


^.••^ 


New  York  State  Factory  Commission. 


An  Unprotected  Worker  Stripping  the  Corroding  Beds. 

In  the  Dutch  process  the  transformation  of  the  lead  buckles 
into  white  lead  is  done  in  a  so-called  corroding  bed.  These  beds 
are  housed  in  a  large  structure  tightly  enclosed  on  all  sides,  with 
only  a  few  small  windows  near  the  roof.  The  floor  of  a  bed  is 
about  20  by  20  and  is  covered  with  a  layer  of  tan  bark  to  a  thick- 
ness of  about  14  inches.  On  this  are  placed,  as  closely  as  possible, 
earthenware  jars  containing  about  2J  per  cent  of  acetic  acid  solu- 
tion. The  jars  are  made  so  that  the  upper  part  is  much  wider 
than  the  lower  part,  and  the  lead  buckles  are  placed  in  these  jars 
above  the  acetic  acid,  so  that  they  cannot  enter  the  acid.  Boards 
are  placed  upon  the  jars  which  are  covered  with  a  layer  of  tan 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  453 

bark  and  the  same  process  is  repeated  until  the  bed  is  filled  to  a 
height  of  about  twenty  feet.  Here  the  lead  buckles  remain  for 
about  from  ninety  to  one  hundred  days.  The  temperature  within 
the  sheds  reaches  from  150  to  180"  F.  When  it  is  thought  that 
the  lead  has  been  corroded  and  transformed  into  lead  carbonate 
the  beds  are  "  stripped  ";  that  is,  the  workers  take  off  the  layers 
of  board  from  the  top,  remove  the  tan  bark  and  expose  the  parts 
full  of  the  lead  buckles,  which  by  this  time  have  become  corroded 
and  present  a  brittle  white  appearance.  The  men  take  out  the 
brittle  buckles,  load  them  into  barrels  or  baskets  and  send  them  to 
be  further  acted  upon  in  the  other  parts  of  the  establishment,  where 
the  fully  corroded  buckles  are  separated  from  those  in  which 
metallic  lead  still  remains,  and  where  the  carbonate  of  lead  is  sub- 
jected to  further  action. 

In  the  chamber  process,  which  is  practically  the  only  process 
used  in  Germany,  and  which  is  said  also  to  be  used  in  one  factory 
in  England,  the  lead  is  cast  into  long,  thin  strips  which  then  are 
hung  upon  bars  in  a  large  chamber,  under  which  are  placed  tubs, 
producing  carbonic  acid  gas  and  acetic  acid  vapor,  which  corrodes 
the  lead  strips,  transforming  them  into  lead  carbonate.  This 
process  takes  from  eight  to  ten  weeks.  Most  of  the  metal  strips, 
after  full  corrosion,  fall  down  to  the  floors.  In  order  to  remove 
the  corroded  and  partly  corroded  strips  the  workers  enter  the 
chambers,  which  are  close  and  dark  and  full  of  lead  dust  in  spite 
of  their  wetting  with  streams  of  water. 

There  are  a  number  of  patented  quick,  or  "  precipitate " 
processes  for  the  manufacture  of  white  lead.  In  a  factory  which 
I  inspected  near  Frankfort  a.M.,  belonging  to  Dr.  Kalkoff,  the 
metallic  lead  was  cast  and  passed  through  a  very  fine  meshed  sieve, 
the  lead  coming  out  in  long,  thin  threads,  which  were  then  put 
into  drums  and  cylinders,  where  they  were  exposed  to  the  action 
of  acetic  acid  and  carbonic  acid  gas.  By  this  process  the  metallic 
lead  was  transformed  into  lead  carbonate  within  a  very  short  time 
— less  than  forty-eight  hours.  The  carbonate  of  lead  is  taken  out 
from  the  cylinder  in  a  moist  state  and  is  packed  into  barrels  without 
danger  to  the  workers. 

In  the  further  work  of  separating,  grinding  and  mixing  the 
white  lead  which  is  received  from  the  stripping  beds,  there  are 
several  processes  which  are  extremely  dusty.  In  all  of  these  the 
workers  come  in  close  contact  with  the  lead,  which  is  deposited 
upon  their  clothes,  hands  and  other  body  surfaces. 


454  THE  MODEKN  FACTORY 

Other  Lead  Trades.  Other  important  trades  in  which  there  is 
much  danger  from  lead  poisoning  are  potteries,  tile  works,  manu- 
facture of  porcelain  enameled  sanitary  ware,  and  the  painting 
and  printing  trades. 

Dr.  Alice  Hamilton  has  shown  that  compared  with  British 
potteries,  American  potteries  with  less  than  one-half  the  work- 
people show  almost  twice  as  many  cases  of  lead  poisoning.  Among 
796  men  in  the  white-ware  potteries,  60  cases  of  lead  poisoning 


New  York  State  Factory  Commission. 

Unsuccessful  Attempts  by  the  Workers  to  Protect  Themselves  against  Poisonous 
Dust  while  Stripping  the  Corroding  Beds  in  a  White-lead  Factory. 

were  found  to  have  occurred  during  the  two  years  1910-1911,  39 
of  which  occurred  during  the  latter  year.  Among  the  150  women 
workers  there  were  43  cases,  29  occurring  during  1911.  A  single 
local  of  the  Dipper's  Union  which  gave  accurate  records  of  85  men 
for  one  year  showed  that  13  had  acute  lead  poisoning  during  that 
year.  Taking  all  the  men  and  women  employed  in  these  three 
industries,  viz.,  white-ware,  potteries,  and  tile  works,  it  was  found 
that  among  1100  men  there  were  87  cases  of  lead  poisoning  in  a 
single  year,  or  one  for  every  12  or  13  employed,  and  among  the 
393  women  57  cases,  or  one  for  every  7  women  employed.  In  the 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES 


455 


fourth  industry,  the  porcelain  enameling  of  iron  hollow  ware,  309 
cases  of  lead  poisoning  were  found  to  have  occurred  in  ten  factories 
studied  within  two  years'  time.* 

The  causes  of  lead  poisoning  in  the  pottery  trades  are  the  lead 
ingredients,  of  which  the  glazes  are  partly  composed.  The  most 
dangerous  process  is  that  of  mixing  the  glaze,  applying  it  to  the 
ware  and  then  removing  the  excess  of  the  glaze  from  the  ware, 
handling  the  ware  while  the  glaze  is  still  wet,  decorating  and  paint- 


New  York  State  Factory  Commission. 
Filling  Barrels  with  Lead  Litharge. 


ing  the  ware  and  also  sweeping  the  rooms  in  which  the  glaze  has 
been  handled.  Much  of  the  glaze  is  without  lead  and  is  harmless. 
In  a  large  percentage,  however,  of  the  various  pottery  wares  lead 
glazes  are  used.  According  to  Dr.  Hamilton,  in  most  of  the  glazes 
the  amount  of  lead  used  is  under  20  per  cent,  and  only  in  very  few 
of  the  factories  she  investigated  did  the  percentage  of  lead  exceed 
20.  In  certain  tile  works,  the  percentage  of  lead  in  the  glaze  ranges 
from  40  to  60. f 

*  Alice  Hamilton:  Lead  Poisoning  in  Potteries,  Tile  Works,  Porcelain  Enameled 
Ware  Factories,  Bull.  U.  S.  Bur.  of  Labor,  No.  104,  pp.  8-9. 
t  Ibid,  p.  13. 


456 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


In  these  industries  the  workmen,  besides  being  exposed  to  lead 
poisoning,  also  inhale  much  mineral  dust  and  suffer  from  the  effect 
of  great  heat  in  the  firing  of  the  enamels. 

Painting  Trade.  A  large  amount  of  lead  poisoning  is  found 
among  workers  painting  the  inside  and  outside  of  buildings,  coaches, 
automobiles,  tanks,  furniture,  etc.  Prof.  Teleky  found  in  one 
firm  employing  114  painters  no  less  than  56  cases  of  lead  poisoning, 
or  49.12  per  cent,  and  his  figures  show  that  the  percentage  of  lead 
poisoning  among  painters  in  Vienna  is  about  the  same  through- 


JNew  *orn  state  Factory  Commission. 

Lead  Refining.     Pot  of  Lead  Drawn  from  the  "  Sweater  "  from    which  the 
Caster  is  Ladling   Molten  Lead. 

out  the  city.  He  has  also  shown  that  since  the  prohibition  in 
Vienna  of  using  lead  paint  for  interior  work,  the  number  of  cases! 
of  lead  poisoning  among  the  painters  has  greatly  decreased.* 

According  to  statistics  published  by  the  Prudential  Insurance 
Co.,  the  mortality  from  lead  poisoning  among  painters  is  very! 
low— 42  out  of  2743  cases.  According  to  the  figures  of  the  Illinois; 
Commission  on  Occupational  Diseases,  of  the  587  cases  of  indus- 
trial lead  poisoning  occurring  between  1908  and  1910  exclusive,1 
27  per  cent  were  among  painters.  Out  of  119  cases  of  industrial 

Dr  Vudw^VSek  ^  BIeivergiftun£  unter  den  Anstreichern,  Lackierern  und  Malern  in  Wien,, 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  457 

poisoning  found  by  Dr.  E.  Pratt  in  1912,  in  N.  Y.  City,  42  were 
among  painters.  Dr.  Hayhurst  made  an  examination  of  100 
painters  for  evidence  of  lead  poisoning  and  the  result  of  this  exam- 
ination is  published  in  Dr.  Hamilton's  report  on  the  hygiene  of 
the  painters'  trade.*  According  to  this  report  there  were  no  cases 
of  acute  plumbism,  but  there  were  indications  of  chronic  plumbism 
in  at  least  59  cases. 

It  is  probable  that  only  very  few  cases  of  the  lead  poisoning 
among  painters  came  to  note  in  hospital  records  and  in  the  reports 
of  the  Labor  Department.  Some  of  the  symptoms  of  lead  pois- 
oning among  painters,  especially  such  as  colic,  are  not  attended 
to  by  the  employes,  or  are  not  properly  diagnosed  by  practitioners 
to  whom  the  painters  apply  for  treatment. 

Lead  poisoning  in  the  painting  trade  is  caused  by  handling 
paints  in  which  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  white  lead  or  other 
pigments  which  contain  lead.  In  the  mixing  of  the  dry  lead,  the 
grinding  of  lead  with  linseed  oil,  considerable  dust  is  inhaled  by 
the  worker.  Much  more  dangerous,  however,  is  the  process  of 
sandpapering  of  painted  surfaces,  during  which  process  a  great 
deal  of  dried  lead  paint  is  being  inhaled  by  the  worker.  This  is 
probably  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the  painter's  work. 

Of  the  various  lead  salts  which  are  used  in  paints,  red  lead  is 
said  to  be  more  dangerous  than  white  lead  in  a  dry  state.  In 
other  forms,  white  lead  is  said  to  be  more  dangerous  than  red 
lead.  Lead  sulphate  when  used  as  a  substitute  for  carbonate 
is  also  said  to  be  quite  dangerous. 

Printing  Trade.  -The  dangers  of  lead  poisoning  in  the  printing 
trade  among  compositors  and  stereotypers  have  been  described  in 
many  monographs  and  reports  in  this  and  other  countries.  Hand 
compositors  handle  the  lead  types.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  dust 
in  the  cleaning  of  the  lead  type  cases,  and  linotype-machine  opera- 
tors also  handle  much  of  the  lead.  Monotype  operators  in  the  cast- 
ing room  are  also  subject  to  lead  fumes. 

The  diseases  to  which  printers  are  specially  subject  are  plumbism 
and  pulmonary  tuberculosis.  According  to  Sommerfeld,  "  We 
but  rarely  meet  acute  lead  poisoning  among  printers.  As  a  rule, 
the  intoxication  is  very  gradual  and  insidious.  The  disease  never 
begins  with  distinct  diagnostic  signs,  but  rather  with  general 
reduction  in  health,  especially  disturbances  of  the  digestion." 
The  substitution  of  machine  for  hand  composition  does  not  seem 

*  Bull.  Bureau  of  Labor  Stat,  No.  120,  p.  51. 


458 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


to  have  improved  the  health  conditions  of  the  workers,  and  as  Ducrot 
says,  "  The  suppression  of  hand  composition  and  its  replacement 
by  machine  composition  has  not  reduced  the  danger;  while  in  Hol- 
land they  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  type-setting  machine 
has  increased  the  dangers  of  lead  poisoning.* 

There  is  very  much  dust  in  all  printing  shops  and  the  lead 
contents  of  this  dust  are  quite  considerable,  trofessor  Steingrabe 
analyzed  the  dust  in  a  printing  shop  andjound  it  contained  in  some 
places  43.16  per  cent  of  lead.f 


New  York  State  Factory  Commission. 

Lead  Oxidizing  Furnace.     Mechanical  Type;  Discharging  the  Furnace. 

Trades  in  which  Workers  are  Exposed  to  Arsenical  Poisoning. 
Arsenic  is  used  in  a  great  many  trades  and  arts  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  workers  are  exposed  to  the  effects  of  this  virulent  poison. 
Dr.  Rogers  in  his  report  to  the  New  York  State  Factory  Commission 
states  that  there  is  danger  to  the  worker  from  arsenical  poisoning 
in  the  following  occupations:  furriers,  manufacture  of  candles: 
and  wax,  ornaments,  manufacture  of  japanned  goods,  manufacture 
of  carpets,  fancy  bookbinding,  preservation  of  wood,  manufacture 

ma  *hPneyim  SfcJSSJ^S^ISt114  S°zialpolitsche  Bedeutung  der  Einfiihrung  der  Setz- 
t  Oliver;  Bulletin  Bureau  of 'Labor,  p.  69. 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  459 


Courtesy  Wm.  C.  Hanson.  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Labor,  Bulletin  No.  12. 

Lead  Working  in  the  Manufacture  of  Storage  Batteries. 

In  Mixing  Red  Oxide  of  Lead  and  Litharge,  Employes  are  Exposed  to  Lead    Poisoning. 
The  Employe  Shown  was  Wearing  a  Respirator,  but  was  not  Willing  to  wear  Long  Gloves. 


460  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

of  gloves,  manufacture  of  sheep  dip,  electroplating,  lithographing 
and  bronzing,  manufacture  of  artificial  leather,  manufacture  of  oil 
cloth  and  linoleum,  manufacture  of  cut  glass,  manufacture  of  hat 
linings,  manufacture  of  beer,  soaking  of  silk  cocoon,  and  enameling. 

The  results  of  their  investigations  were  summarized  by  Rogers 
and  Vogt  as  follows: 

"  Arsenic  and  its  compounds  are  powerful  poisons,  and  their 
use  in  the  industries  is  attended  with  danger  to  health  of  workers 
exposed  to  them. 

"  Poisoning  may  occur  accidentally  through  the  use  of  material 
which,  unknown  to  the  worker,  contains  arsenic  as  an  impurity. 

"  Poisoning  may  occur  through  the  handling  of,  or  exposure  to 
the  dust  of  arsenic  or  its  compounds. 

"  The  form  of  poisoning  most  seen  is  that  limited  to  local 
lesions  of  the  exposed  portions  of  the  body  (hands  and  face),  and 
to  the  mucous  membranes  of  the  nose. 

"  The  greatest  danger  exists  in  industries  devoted  to  the  man- 
ufacture of  Paris  green  and  Vienna  green. 

"  Danger  exists  in  the  following  industries:  Paint  works;  plant 
vermin  exterminator;  glass  works,  other  than  bottle  and  window 
glass;  artificial  leather  and  oilcloth;  electroplating;  taxidermy; 
rubber  goods,  other  than  for  insulating  purposes. 

"  In  a  number  of  industries  there  is  danger  of  a  mixed 
poisoning,  which  is  liable  to  render  a  proper  diagnosis  diffi- 
cult. 

"  The  majority  of  the  workers  are  unaware  of  the  poisonous 
nature  of  the  material  handled,  and  where  precautions  are  taken 
it  is  only  because  lead  compounds  are  also  used."  * 

In  my  investigations  of  chemical  factories  in  the  United  States 
I  have  come  across  several  places  where  arsenic  was  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  Paris  green  in  which  no  protection  whatever  was 
given  the  workers  in  the  process  of  grinding,  mixing,  weighing 
and  packing  of  the  product  in  small  paper  packages.  Foreign 
labor  was  exclusively  used  in  one  of  the  factories  and  there  were 
records  of  several  cases  of  sudden  death  and  of  numerous  cases  of 
chronic  arsenical  poisoning  which  caused  temporary  or  permanent 
disability.  The  same  kind  of  factories  investigated  abroad  in 
several  places  in  Germany  were  found  to  use  very  great  precautions. 
The  workers  were  protected  by  special  clothing  and  were  obliged  to 
wear  respirators;  the  processes  of  mixing,  drying  and  weighing 

*  Second  Report  of  the  Factory  Investigating  Commission,  1913,  Vol.  II,  p.  1161. 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  461 

were  practically  automatic  and  there  was  very  little  dust  or  chance 
for  the  worker  to  be  contaminated  by  it. 

Mercury.  In  addition  to  miners  of  quicksilver  the  danger  of 
mercury  poisoning  is  great  in  the  following  industries:  the  silver- 
ing of  mirrors,  making  of  barometers,  thermometers  and  other 
instruments  where  mercury  is  employed,  making  of  electric  light 
bulbs  in  which  a  vacuum  is  produced  by  mercurial  pumps,  making 
electric  meters,  antiseptics,  corrosive  sublimate,  rubber  manufac- 


New  York  State  Factory  Commission. 

Paris  Green  Factory:     Automatic  Packing  Machines  for  Filling  Small 
Packages  with  Paris  Green. 

ture,  hair  dyes  and  cosmetics,  bronzing,  sole  stitching  of  shoes  by 
the  Blake  machine,  the  manufacture  of  felt  hats,  and  the  man- 
ufacture of  felt  from  skins. 

The  illustrations  on  pages  415  and  418  are  from  a  factory  which 
I  inspected,  in  which  the  hair  is  scraped  from  the  skins  of  hares 
and  rabbits  imported  from  abroad,  manufactured  into  felt  and  sold 
to  hat  manufacturers.  In  this  factory,  the  bundles  of  skins  from 
rabbits,  nutria,  hares,  etc.,  are  opened,  sorted  and  the  hair  is  then 
clipped  by  machine.  The  fur  is  then  brushed  over  with  a  solution 
of  silver  nitrate  from  10  to  20  per  cent,  this  process  being  called 


462  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

carotting.  The  skins  are  then  dried  on  trays  in  ovens  at  a  high 
temperature  and  then  are  cut  by  machines  to  rip  off  the  skins. 
The  30  to  40  workers  at  "  carotting  "  were  all  Greeks.  They  stand 
all  day  at  their  benches  and  dip  their  brushes  in  the  solution  of 
nitrate  of  mercury.  The  temperature  in  the  room  must  be  not 
less  than  70°  F.  and  there  is  considerable  volatilization  of  the 
mercury,  especially  near  the  drying  room  and  when  the  workers 
carry  the  pelts  from  the  drying-room  to  the  other  rooms  in  the 
factory. 

The  industries  where  workers  are  exposed  to  mercury  were 
studied  by  Mrs.  Lindon  W.  Eates  and  published  in  her  report 
issued  in  1912.  In  several  factories  manufacturing  mirrors  in 
New  York  State  no  mercury  was  used  in  the  process  of  silvering 
mirrors,  silver  nitrate  being  used  instead,  which  is  said  to  give  just 
as  good  results. 

Professor  Thompson  quotes  Dr.  Tylecote  of  England,  who 
reported  20  cases  of  industrial  mercurial  poisoning,  chiefly  among 
hatters,  who  presented  tremor  of  the  hands  and  arms  and  blackening 
of  the  teeth  with  gingivitis.*  The  investigations  of  Mrs.  Bates 
and  of  Dr.  Rogers  in  1911-1912  cover  a  study  of  122  cases  of 
mercurial  poisoning  in  the  felt  hat  manufacture. 

Phosphorus  Poisoning.  Since  the  practical  prohibition  by 
the  United  States  of  the  use  of  white  or  yellow  phosphorus  in  the 
manufacture  of  matches,  the  subject  of  poisoning  among  phos- 
phorus-workers has  lost  the  great  importance  which  it  had  until  then. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  only  a  comparatively  small  number  of  workers 
were  exposed  to  danger  from  this  industrial  poison,  and  it  is 
expected  that  the  international  prohibition  of  the  use  of  poisonous 
phosphorus  in  matches  will  eliminate  this  poison  from  industry. 
In  a  factory  manufacturing  phosphorus  which  I  inspected  in  Niag- 
ara Falls  I  was  struck  with  the  very  careless  way  the  workers  were 
handling  this  dangerous  product,  showing  how  familiarity  with 
the  materials  produced  contempt  for  their  dangers.  The  workers 
in  this  factory  were  handling  with  seeming  indifference  solid  phos- 
phorus sticks  which  were  fuming  and  burning  their  fingers.  The 
inspection  was  made  just  prior  to  the  going  into  effect  of  the  law 
taxing  white  phosphorus  out  of  manufacture. 

The  Manufacture  of  Acids  and  Alkalies.  There  is  considerable 
danger  to  workers  in  the  branches  of  the  chemical  industry  in  which 
commercial  acids  such  as  sulphuric,  hydrochloric,  nitric,  acetic 

*  Occupational  Diseases,  Thompson,  p.  289. 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  463 

and  hydrofluoric,  and  also  alkalies,  such  as  sodium,  potassium 
and  their  products  and  by-products,  caustic  soda,  caustic  potash, 
bleach  powders,  etc.,  are  manufactured. 

The  dangers  which  arise  in  the  manufacture  of  these  products 
come  from  the  gases  and  fumes  evolved  in  the  various  processes, 
such  gases  and  fumes  being  given  off  at  times  in  such  quantities 
that  workers  are  sometimes  killed  by  their  inhalation  or  absorp- 
tion. Besides  the  possible  fatal  effect  of  concentrated  doses  of  these 
gases  and  fumes,  the  workers  may  be  affected  with  chronic  blood 


New  York  State  Factory  Commission. 

Putting  Paris  Green  into  the  Bolter. 

or  other  diseases,  are  exposed  to  the  irritant  action  of  many  of  these 
elements  upon  the  skin,  eyes,  and  respiratory  tract,  and  are  also 
frequently  subjected  to  acid  burns  which  are  apt  to  result  in  per- 
manent disfigurement  and  disability. 

During  the  summer  of  1912,  while  directing  the  general  investi- 
gations of  the  New  York  State  Factory  Commission,  I  made  an 
inspectorial  tour  through  New  York  and  other  states  accompanied 
by  Dr.  Charles  F.  McKenna,  and  inspected  a  large  number  of 
chemical  factories,  especially  those  where  commercial  acids  and 
alkalies  were  manufactured.  The  results  of  the  investigations 


464  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

have  been  embodied  in  my  report  on  the  chemical  trades  and  in  the 
report  of  Dr.  McKenna  on  the  manufacture  and  use  of  commercial 
acids.  The  impression  which  remained  with  us  after  a  study  of 
the  conditions  was  that  very  little  was  being  done  by  the  owners 
and  manufacturers  to  remove  the  dangers  to  workers  which  are  so 
prevalent  in  these  industries. 

The   general   conditions   of   manufacture    of   commercial   acids 
and  alkalies  were  found  defective  in  many  respects.     The  build- 


New  York  State  Factory  Commission. 
Filling  a  Barrel  with  Paris  Green. 

Workers  Wear  Special  Overalls,  Gloves,  Goggles  and  Linen  Cloths  Covering  Nose,  Mouth 
and  Throat.  f 

ings  were  mostly  wooden  structures,  of  flimsy  construction,  and 
often  entirely  unfit  for  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  used. 
Serious  defects  were  found  in  the  matter  of  lighting,  illumination, 
ventilation  and  sanitation  of  these  factories,  as  have  been  described 
in  detail  in  the  reports  mentioned. 

What  interested  us  most,  however,  was  the  absence  of  any 
safeguards  against  specific  dangers  to  workers  in  these  industries, 
such  as  dust-removing  apparata,  or  arrangements  for  removing 
the  deadly  gases  and  fumes  evolved  in  many  of  the  processes; 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  465 

the  neglect  to  provide  the  workers  with  means  of  protection;  the 
large  number  of  foreigners  and  unskilled  workers  in  these  indus- 
tries, and  the  total  ignorance  of  the  workers  as  to  the  risks  and 
dangers  which  they  met  daily,  and  their  extreme  carelessness  to 
their  dangerous  surroundings. 

In  very  few  shops  did  we  find  any  precautions  taken  during 
the  firing  and  tending  of  the  furnaces  in  which  ores  were  being 
burned  and  from  which  gases  and  fumes  were  allowed  to  escape, 
in  the  mixing  of  dangerous  materials  and  ingredients,  in  the  large 
amounts  of  dust  which  were  allowed  to  fill  the  air  of  the  rooms, 
in  the  careless  handling  of  acids  and  other  dangerous  liquids,  in 
the  carelessness  with  which  workers  tended  the  unprotected 
caustic  pots  and  caldrons,  in  the  absolute  lack  of  protection  to  work- 
ers in  dipping  metals  into  strong  solutions  of  nitric  and  sulphuric 
acid,  and  other  unprotected  processes,  which  fully  explained  the 
large  number  of  accidents  reported  in  the  chemical  industry.  In 
the  manufacture  of  sulphuric  acid,  either  by  the  chamber  or  by 
the  contact  processes,  there  was  considerable  danger  from  the 
sulphurous  acid;  from  roasters  and  brimstone  burners;  from  nitrous 
gases  from  the  pots  or  from  the  nitric  acid  supply;  from  sulphuric 
acid;  from  the  interior  of  towers;  from  the  concentrators,  or  the 
fumes  from  this  acid  encountered  in  the  repair  of  the  chambers. 

In  the  manufacture  of  nitric  acid,  leakages  have  often  been 
found  in  the  apparata  and  much  nitrous  gas  was  liberated  in  these 
factories.  In  the  inspection  of  the  electroplating  processes  in  a 
large  number  of  metal  trades  where  metal  articles  were  dipped 
into  a  solution  of  nitric  and  sulphuric  acid,  dense  and  voluminous 
clouds  of  red  fumes  were  often  seen,  and  as  there  was  very  little 
effort  made  to  convey  or  to  remove  these  gases,  there  was  no  pro- 
tection for  the  workers  from  breathing  these  dangerous  fumes. 

In  the  manufacture  of  hydrochloric  acid,  whether  by  the  Le 
Blanc  or  by  the  electrolytic  process,  much  hydrochloric  acid  is 
liberated  and  many  of  the  workers  had  their  teeth  rotted  and  cor- 
roded and  also  showed  evidences  of  frequent  burns. 

One  of  the  characteristics  of  the  chemical  industry  is  that  in 
one  industrial  plant  or  factory  there  may  be  a  number  of  various 
processes  housed  in  the  same  plant.  Thus,  factories  which  man- 
ufacture commercial  acids  manufacture  also  various  alkalies.  This 
is  notably  the  case  with  the  Solvay  and  electrolytic  processes  of 
manufacture  of  acids,  soda  and  potash  where,  in  these  plants, 
sulphuric  acid  and  hydrochloric  acid  are  also  manufactured,  and 


466 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  467 

where  caustic  soda  or  potash  and  bleach  powders  are  often  manu- 
factured at  the  same  place. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  unprotected  condi- 
tion in  several  factories  in  New  York  State,  of  the  big  caldrons 
15  feet  in  diameter  filled  with  burning  cuastic  soda  and  potash 
and  to  the  accidents  which  often  occur  in  these  places. 

Bleach  Works.  In  the  manufacture  of  bleach  powders,  several 
plants  of  which  I  inspected  at  Niagara  Falls,  New  York,  I  was 
greatly  impressed  with  the  dangers  in  these  factories,  and  also  with 
the  lack  of  protective  devices  and  appliances.  A  description  of 
theso  factories  and  their  dangers  may  be  of  interest. 

The  electrolytic  process  of  manufacturing  chlorine  gas  is  used 
in  these  plants;  the  bleach  chambers,  however,  are  such  as  were 
used  in  the  old  Weldon  process.  These  bleach  chambers  consist 
of  large  rooms  approximately  25  by  100  feet  in  size  and  7  feet  high. 
The  lime  is  spread  on  the  floors  several  inches  thick  and  harrowed 
into  narrow  furrows;  then  the  chlorine  gas  is  let  into  these  chambers 
until  the  lime  absorbs  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  gas,  when  the 
chambers  are  opened  and  fresh  air  is  let  in.  The  workers  then 
go  into  the  chambers  and  rake  up  the  lime  saturated  with  the 
chlorine  gas  and  pass  it  down  the  chutes  through  traps  in  the  chamber 
floor.  In  spite  of  the  opening  of  the  door  and  of  a  window  opposite 
the  door,  considerable  gas  is  left  in  the  chambers  and  much  is  set 
free  during  the  raking  up  of  the  bleach  powder.  This  process  raises 
clouds  of  dust,  and  the  chlorine  gas  in  the  air  of  the  chamber  is  so 
overpowering  that  it  is  impossible  for  one  to  stay  in  the  chamber 
for  even  a  short  time  without  some  protection.  The  work  must 
be  done  with  great  speed  in  order  not  to  waste  the  chlorine  gas; 
the  heat  in  the  chambers  is  excessive,  and  the  conditions  are  such 
as  to  make  this  work  more  trying  and  exhausting  than  almost  any 
other  process  whatsoever. 

The  workers  wear  special  clothes,  caps  and  gloves,  for  the 
bleach  powder  is  very  irritating  and  destructive,  sores  resulting 
when  it  comes  in  contact  with  the  bare  skin.  The  eyes  are  pro- 
tected by  goggles,  the  head  is  covered,  the  mouth  is  covered  by 
six  or  seven  folds  of  heavy  flannel  through  which  the  man  must 
inspire,  while  expiration  takes  place  through  the  nostrils,  which 
are  in  close  contact  with  the  flannel.  The  apparatus  is  called 
by  the  men  a  "  muzzle."  It  requires  much  experience  for  a  man 
to  be  able  to  use  it  properly.  Only  those  who  are  able  to  wear 
such  muzzles  are  allowed  to  work  in  the  bleach  chambers.  Even 


468  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

to  those  accustomed  to  wearing  them  they  cause  considerable 
difficulty  in  breathing,  and  they  cannot  be  worn  for  a  long  period. 
When  the  muzzle  is  worn  in  a  gassy  bleach  chamber,  with  the  dust, 
heat  and  gas,  and  with  the  speed  required  for  the  work,  the  time 
that  the  workers  may  remain  in  the  chamber  with  comparative 
comfort  is  very  short,  ranging  from  ten  to  thirty  minutes.  The 
men  coming  out  from  the  chambers  present  a  pitiful  appearance. 
They  are  all  covered  with  bleach  dust;  their  eyebrows  and  exposed 
parts  are  permanently  whitened  by  the  action  of  the  bleach;  per- 
spiration is  profuse  and  runs  down  the  face;  the  breath  is  labored 
and  hurried;  the  pulse  is  high,  ranging,  in  my  examination  of 
several  workers,  from  96  to  110  beats  per  minute.  The  workers 
in  this  exhausted  condition  quickly  throw  off  their  "  muzzles  " 
and  rush  for  the  open  windows,  gasping  for  breath. 

My  inspection  was  made  in  the  summer  when  the  windows 
were  open,  and  the  ghastly  faces  of  the  exhausted  chamber  workers 
as  they  thrust  their  heads  through  the  windows  into  the  outer 
air  made  a  gravely  impressive  picture.  Whether  the  windows  are 
open  in  the  bleach  chambers  during  the  winter  time  could  not  be 
definitely  ascertained,  as  the  testimony  of  the  different  workers 
varied  in  regard  to  this.  It  frequently  happened  that  the  workers 
are  "  gassed,"  i.e.,  overcome  by  the  chlorine  gas.  This  produces 
nausea,  fainting,  vomiting,  and  occasionally,  unconsciousness. 
Sneezing  and  coughing  are  always  attendant  upon  work  in  the  bleach 
chambers. 

Most  of  the  men  are  robust  and  strong,  for  only  such  are  able 
to  do  the  work;  there  is,  however,  no  physical  examination  of 
applicants  for  this  work.  Those  who  were  found  working  were 
generally  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  thirty,  although  much 
older  in  appearance;  in  fact,  they  seem  quite  aged  at  thirty. 

The  work  in  the  bleach  chamber  is  done  by  gangs  of  four  or  five, 
and  consists  not  only  in  removing  the  bleach  from  the  chambers,  but 
also  in  preparing  the  lime  in  the  chambers  and  in  the  general  care 
of  these  rooms.  Their  work  inside  the  chambers  is  fortunately 
not  continuous;  while  one  gang  goes  in  for  fifteen  to  thirty  minutes, 
the  other  gang  is  preparing  the  lime  in  another  part  of  the  plant, 
thus  alternating  the  work.  The  system  of  compensation  for  the 
work  is  based  on  a  ton  of  product  and  is  considered  quite  high; 
at  least,  it  is  known  that  these  workers  are  the  most  highly  paid 
in  the  plant  outside  of  the  skilled  workers.  Their  earnings  range 
from  $12  for  beginners  to  $25  per  week,  the  largest  number  of 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  469 


New  York  State  Factory  Commission. 
The  "  Muzzles  "  and  Costumes  Worn  by  Bleach  Workers. 


470  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

bleachers  making  between  $18  and  $25  per  week.  Comparatively 
few  of  these  bleach-chamber  operatives  had  been  long  at  this  work, 
only  ten  or  twelve  among  them  having  worked  over  five  years. 

Out  of  the  59  bleach-chamber  workers  whose  individual  histories 
were  taken,  there  were  only  16  who  did  not  complain  of  some  affec- 
tion of  the  nose,  throat,  eyes,  or  who  did  not  suffer  from  a  cou^h, 
nausea,  headache  or  other  ailment. 

The  gangs  work  in  shifts,  in  some  plants, there  being  two,  in 
others  three  shifts.  Of  the  59  workers,  2  were  found  to  work  forty 
hours  per  week,  17  worked  forty-eight  to  fifty-two  hours  per  week, 
12  worked  sixty  per  week  and  3  worked  sixty-six  to  seventy-two 
hours  per  week.  Out  of  the  59  bleach-workers  whose  histories 
were  taken,  46  claimed  to  have  knowledge  of  the  dangerous  character 
of  their  work  and  37  said  that  instructions  were  given  to  them  how 
to  take  care  of  themselves.* 

In  an  illustration  on  page  422  the  Hasenclever  method  of  manu- 
facture of  chloride  of  lime  is  shown  as  used  in  Germany  and  in  a 
chemical  establishment  in  Brussels,  Belgium,  which  I  inspected 
in  1913.  By  using  this  method  the  necessity  for  "  bleach-workers  " 
is  obviated,  and  the  process  becomes  harmless. 


Ill 
PREVENTION  AND   PROTECTION 

The  problem  of  eliminating  occupational  diseases  and  preventing 
human  waste  caused  by  industrial  poisons,  gases  and  fumes  is 
one  of  the  most  important  tasks  of  the  age,  and  is  closely  inter- 
woven with  the  general  subject  of  the  conservation  of  human 
resources.  The  crux  of  the  problem  is  not  whether  we  shall  have 
industry  with  disease  and  poisons,  or  no  industry  at  all.  It  is  rather 
whether  we  shall  allow  industry  to  take  its  annual  toll  of  human 
life  by  permitting  the  captains  of  industry  to  decimate  the  indus- 
trial ranks  by  poison  and  disease,  or  whether  we  shall  insist  that 
industry  must  be  free  from  all  dangers,  hazards  and  risks  and  sub- 
ordinate production  and  output  to  the  weal  of  the  human  factor 
in  industry. 

Just  as  theoretical  considerations  and  experience  have  demon- 
strated that  our  industrial  accidents  are  wasteful  and  unnecessary 

*  General  Report  of  the  Director  of  Investigation,  New  York   State   Factory   Commission, 
pp.  470-472. 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  471 

to  industrial  efficiency,  and,  that  many,  if  not  most  of  them, 
may  be  prevented,  just  so  has  it  been  proved  that  many  of  the 
effects  of  industrial  poisons,  gases  and  fumes  are  not  a  necessary 
concomitant  of  industrial  life,  that  many  occupational  diseases 
may  be  prevented  and  the  fearful  waste  of  human  life  due  to  these 
causes  avoided. 

The  general  principles  of  prevention  and  protection  of  workers 
in  dangerous  trades  do  not  differ  much  from  the  methods  of  pro- 
tection and  prevention  that  have  been  discussed  in  the  other 
chapters,  notably  those  on  accident  prevention  and  industrial  dusts. 
In  order  to  present  the  various  methods  of  prevention  and  protec- 
tion in  logical  sequence,  I  shall  here  give  a  scheme  of  the  principal 
and  subordinate  methods  which  are  being  introduced  in  different 
countries  to  protect  the  workers  in  dangerous  trades  from  occupa- 
tional diseases. 

I.  Legislative  Protection 

(1)  Investigation.-     .  (2)  Notification. 

(3)  Inspection.  (4)  Special  rules. 

(5)  Licensing.  ,  (6)  Special  prohibitions. 

II.  Social  Protection 

(1)  Hours  of  labor.  (2)  Industrial  control. 

(3)  Workmen's  compensation.        (4)  Sickness  and  social  insurance. 

III.  Industrial  Protection 

(1)  Substitution     of     harmless     (2)  Wet  and  automatic  processes. 

materials    for    dangerous 

ones. 
(3)  Removal  of  dust,  gases  and     (4)  Sanitary  protection. 

fumes. 

IV.  Medical  Protection 

(1)  Personal  hygiene.  (2)  First  aid. 

(3)  Medical  supervision. 

Legislative  Protection.  Since  the  breaking  down  of  the  laissez 
faire  policy,  the  principle  of  state  regulation  of  industry  has  been 
accepted  by  all  legislatures  of  the  civilized  world.  The  extension 
of  legislative  protection  is  progressing  in  all  countries  in  about 
the  same  direction.  At  first,  protection  is  given  by  the  state  only 
to  children  and  women  in  industry.  The  protection  is  then  extended 


472  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

to  all  adults  and  embraces  regulation  of  industrial  conditions, 
provisions  for  sanitation  of  factories  and  the  safeguarding  of  work- 
ers against  the  dangers  of  accidents.  After  these  steps  have  been 
taken  attempts  are  then  made  to  control  and  regulate  the  special 
hazards  specific  to  dangerous  trades. 

Investigation.  The  first  natural  step  toward  any  regulation 
of  dangerous  trades  is  to  study  these  trades,  investigate  occupa- 
tional diseases  and  the  hazards  specific  to  certain  industries. 
Hence,  we  find  almost  in  all  countries  that  preliminary  to  enact- 
ing laws  on  dangerous  trades,  general  or  special  investigations 
more  or  less  thorough  are  ordered  by  the  state  and  given  over 
to  competent  scientific  authorities,  upon  whose  investigations  and 
report  the  restrictive  legislation  is  then  based.  Thus  we  find, 
for  instance,  in  England,  all  the  provisions  of  the  factory  acts  rela- 
tive to  specially  dangerous  trades  have  followed  the  report  of  the 
Departmental  Committee  on  Dangerous  Trades,  which  was  sitting 
for  several  years  in  the  nineties.  All  the  extensions  of  the  factory 
acts  to  other  dangerous  trades  since  then  have  been  made  after 
special  investigations  ordered  by  Parliament. 

Restrictive  legislation  on  dangerous  trades  in  Illinois  followed 
the  report  of  the  Occupational  Diseases  Committee  and  the  same 
has  been  the  case  in  New  York  and  other  states.  Such  procedure 
is  especially  necessary  in  dealing  with  occupational  diseases,  which 
are  only  known  to  specially  trained  scientists.  Hence,  investiga- 
tion is  the  first  step  in  legislative  protection  in  dangerous  trades. 

Notification.  The  second  step  in  legislative  protection  is  the 
compulsory  reporting  of  certain  occupational  diseases  and  cases 
of  industrial  poisoning.  Unless  such  data  are  gathered  and  unless 
all  the  cases  of  disease  due  to  occupation  and  industrial  poisons 
are  known,  the  extent  of  protection  needed  in  the  dangerous 
trades  cannot  be  known;  and  therefore  many  countries  and  states 
have  already  enacted  laws  compelling  physicians  and  employers 
to  report  cases  of  certain  occupational  diseases  and  industrial 
poisoning.  The  results  of  this  reporting  and  notification  are  not 
yet  of  much  value,  because  of  a  lack  of  proper  medical  supervision; 
but  this  is  undoubtedly  a  very  important  and  beneficent  step  in 
industrial  protection. 

Inspection.  Another  corollary  of  the  attempt  at  legislative 
protection  is  the  extension  of  state  inspectorial  service  to  dangerous 
trades.  This  means  not  only  more  frequent  visits  by  inspectors 
to  industrial  establishments  in  which  poisons,  gases  and  fumes 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  473 

are  found,  but  also  the  inclusion  by  the  state  factory  inspection 
departments  of  competent  scientists  and  specially  trained  phys- 
sicians,  engineers  and  chemists  in  their  inspectorial  service  so  that 
state  inspection  of  dangerous  trades  may  be  a  real  force  and  service 
instead  of  a  farce.  In  European  countries,  factory  inspectors  are 
a  highly  technically  trained  corps  of  men,  and  in  several  of  the 
countries  special  divisions  in  the  inspectorial  department  have 
been  created  to  take  care  of  the  dangerous  trades  and  establish- 


Danneberg  &  Quand,  Berlin. 

Showing  how  the  Lead  Fumes  in  a  Lead  Smelting  Shop  are  Properly  Carried 
Away  by  a  Local  Exhaust  Ventilating  System  Devised  by  a  Famous  Firm  in 
Germany,  making  a  Specialty  of  Ventilating  Apparata  for  Dangerous  Trades. 


ments.  The  same  tendency  is  also  manifest  in  this  country,  as 
several  of  the  large  states  have  appointed  a  number  of  special 
technically  trained  inspectors  to  take  care  of  this  work. 

Special  Rules.  Legislative  protection  in  dangerous  trades 
begins  first  with  investigation,  then  notification  and  reporting, 
and  is  followed  by  a  more  thorough  and  special  inspectorial  service. 
The  next  step  is  the  issue  of  special  rules  and  regulations  adapted 


474  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

to  specially  dangerous  industries  and  processes.  The  more  the 
question  of  industrial  hygiene  is  studied,  the  more  it  becomes 
apparent  that  legislative  protection  does  not  lie  in  the  enactment 
of  general  laws  covering  all  industrial  conditions,  hut  in  the  pos- 
sibility of  issuing  from  time  to  time  according  to  necessity  rules 
and  regulations  applicable  only  to  certain  industries  or  processes, 
or  even  to  individual  establishments  where  specific  dangers  are 
likely  to  be  found.  Hence,  in  almost  all  countries  and  states, 
provision  is  made  for  some  authority  after  proper  investigation 
and  study,  to  issue  such  rules  and  regulations.  In  most  of  the 
European  countries  the  ministers  of  commerce  and  labor  (or  how- 
ever they  are  designated),  are  the  usual  authorities  who,  together 
with  the  specially  trained  higher  inspectors,  have  the  right  to  make 
such  rules  and  regulations.  In  the  United  States,  this  matter  has 
only  recently  been  brought  to  our  attention  and  several  states  have 
made  attempts  to  solve  the  problem,  each  in  its  own  way.  In 
Wisconsin,  the  right  of  making  special  rules  and  regulations  has 
been  given  to  the  Industrial  Commission;  while  the  same  right, 
perhaps  more  restricted,  has  been  given  to  the  Industrial  Boards 
in  the  States  of  New  York,  Massachusetts  and  Pennsylvania. 

Those  who  make  a  study  of  the  large  number  of  special  rules 
and  regulations  which  have  been  issued  abroad  covering  so  many 
industrial  processes  and  conditions,  cannot  help  but  admire  the 
thoroughness  with  which  this  work  has  been  done,  the  utility  of 
such  special  rules  and  regulations,  and  the  benefit  that  has  accrued 
to  the  workers  in  dangerous  trades. 

Licensing.  A  further  extension  of  legislative  protection  of  the 
worker  in  dangerous  trades  is  found  in  the  system  of  licensing 
such  trades.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  make  special  rules  and  regu- 
lations guarding  the  workers  in  establishments  already  erected 
and  existing.  It  is  always  easier  to  prevent  than  to  cure.  The 
protection  in  dangerous  trades  should  extend  to  establishments 
before  they  are  erected.  It  is  then  possible  to  prevent  certain 
conditions  which  it  may  be  too  late  to  amend  later  on;  hence 
the  practice  of  legislatures  of  different  countries  of  compelling  the 
owners  of  establishments  in  certain  trades  to  apply  for  an  author- 
ization and  to  receive  a  license  from  the  state  inspection  and  indus- 
trial service  after  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  plans  and  speci- 
fications. Such  licensing  is  a  very  efficient  method  of  legislative 
protection  and  is  destined  to  be  extended  to  all  dangerous  trades 
and  to  be  accepted  by  all  states  in  this  country. 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  475 

Special  Prohibitions.  The  right  of  the  state  to  protect  the 
workers  in  dangerous  trades  goes  even  further.  Not  only  does  a 
state  make  special  rules  and  regulations  which  must  be  followed 
in  these  establishments,  not  only  are  such  trades  often  required 
to  be  licensed,  but  the  legislatures  also  enact  laws  prohibiting 
certain  classes  of  persons  from  participating  in  any  dangerous 
trade.  Many  laws  have  been  enacted  by  the  legislatures  of  dif- 
ferent countries  and  states,  by  which  children  under  a  certain 
age  and  sometimes  all  children  and  minors,  and  all  women  or  only 
women  of  a  certain  age,  etc.,  are  prohibited  from  participating 
in  any  work  which  is  specially  dangerous  or  from  working  in  estab- 
lishments where  certain  poisons,  gases  and  fumes  are  being  used. 

Social  Protection.  By  social  protection  of  workers  in  danger- 
ous trades  is  meant  the  protection  given  not  only  by  legislative 
action,  but  by  a  general  combined  social  effort  to  raise  the  economic, 
social  or  health  standard  of  the  workers  either  by  legislative 'enact- 
ments or  by  general  combined  efforts  of  states,  industries  and  social 
institutions. 

Hours  of  Labor.  An  important  protection  to  workers  in  dan- 
gerous trades  is  the  limitation  of  the  hours  of  labor  of  workers 
in  these  trades.  ,The  principle  of  decreasing  the  hours  of  labor 
according  to  the  extent  of  the  danger  in  the  industry  has  been  ac- 
cepted as  a  legislative  standard  in  only  a  few  instances.  *  This  is 
notably  the  case  with  the  law  restricting  the  hours  of  workers  in 
ca'ssons.  The  New  York  State  Law  has  limited  such  work  from 
two  to  four  or  six  hours  according  to  the  air  pressure  in  the  cais- 
sons. It  is  probable  that  a  limitation  of  hours  of  labor  in  other 
dangerous  trades  would  be  a  great  step  in  the  protection  of  the  work- 
ers, as  it  has  been  proved  beyond  doubt  that  in  trades  where  there 
is  no  possibility  of  eliminating  certain  dangerous  elements,  the  less 
hours  a  person  works  therein,  the  less  he  is  liable  to  be  affected. 

Industrial  Control.  Another  significant  tendency  in  the  pro- 
tection of  workers  in  dangerous  trades  is  the  extension  of  indus- 
trial control  by  industries  to  the  organized  heads  of  all  the  estab- 
lishments in  such  industries.  The  owners  of  establishments  in  one 
industry  have  at  last  come  to  the  conclusion  that  while  individually 
they  may  compete  with  each  other  as  to  output  and  commercial 
undertakings,  their  interests  as  far  as  the  human  factor  in  industry 
is  concerned  are  almost  identical.  It  is  to  the  benefit  of  their  indus- 
try and  to  industrial  efficiency  in  general  to  take  proper  care  of 
their  workers  and  common  cooperative  attempts  have  been  made 


476  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

by  whole  industries  or  groups  of  industries  to  this  end.  This  has 
been  done  especially  in  Germany,  where  Trade  Associations  have 
been  formed  in  sixty-six  various  industries.  Each  Trade  Asso- 
ciation has  been  given  the  right  by  the  government  to  issue 
special  rules  and  regulations  which  are  binding  for  their  respective 
industries,  and  also  to  appoint  a  special  inspectorial  corps  who 
have  the  right  to  make  frequent  inspections  in  the  various  estab- 
lishments, and  even  to  fine  the  members  of  each  Association  in 
case  they  do  not  comply  with  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
Association.  A  further  tendency  in  the  same  direction  is  seen  in 
the  attempts  made ;  by  either  large  corporations  or  by  organized 
manufacturers  in  certain  industries  to  better  the  conditions  of  the 
workers  in  the  whole  industry.  Reference  has  already  been  made 
to  the  great  work  done  in  this  direction  by  the  United  States  Steel 
Trust,  by  the  International  Harvester  Company  and  by  a  great 
many  other  corporations  in  the  United  States.  Attention  must 
also  be  drawn  to  the  latest  example  of  industrial  control  of  an  indus- 
try by  the  industry  itself  in  the  two  large,  industries  in  New  York 
City,  viz.,  the  Cloak,  Suit,  and  Skirt  and  the  Dress  and  Waist 
Industries,  in  which  there  are  in  New  York  City  alone  2500  fac- 
tories and  workshops,  and  which  have  created  a  Joint  Board  of  Sani- 
tary Control  to  take  special  care  of -the  sanitary  conditions  of  the 
workshops  in  these  industries  and  also  of  the  health  conditions- 
•of  the  workers. 

Compensation.  An  extension  of  the  principle  of  industrial 
control  is  the  enactment  of  workmen's  compensation.  If  there 
are  certain  dangers  and  hazards  inherent  in  a  certain  industry , 
the  industry  as  a  whole  should  be  responsible  for  them  and  should 
also  be  made  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  injuries,  diseases  and  death 
due  to  the  industrial  hazards.  The  manufacturer  and  the  capital- 
ist recognize  that  a  certain  breakage  of  materials,  machinery  and 
appliances  is  inevitable.  They  all  compute  a  certain  amount 
annually  for  depreciation  in  the  structure  and  in  the  physical  prop- 
erties of  their  plant.  They  include  in  their  calculations  possible 
loss  by  fire,  accident  and  bankruptcy.  If  there  are  certain  inher- 
ent dangers  to  the  life  and  health  of  the  human  factor  in  industrial 
establishments,  one  cannot  see  why  this  element  should  not  also 
fall  as  a  toll  upon  the  industry  and  be  taken  into  consideration 
by  the  manufacturer  and  capitalist.  There  is  no  reason  why  the 
ills  and  injuries  to  which  the  worker  is  liable  in  the  industrial  plant 
should  all  fall  upon  himself  and  his  nearest  kin.  There  is  every 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  477 

reason  why  these  burdens  should  be  shifted  upon  the  industry 
itself. 

Workmen's  compensation,  which  is  an  established  fact  in  a 
number  of  countries  abroad,  has  only  been  lately  accepted  as  a 
cardinal  principle  of  industrial  justice  in  the  United  States  and  has 
been  enacted  by  legislatures  of  many  states,  and  will  doubtless 
be  extended  to  all  states  of  the  Union  and  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. The  enactment  of  workmen's  compensation  laws  will 


Danneberg  &  Quand,  Berlin. 

A  Linotype  Room  of  a  Daily  Newspaper  in  Berlin,  Germany.      Each  Machine 
is  Connected  with  an  Efficient  Exhaust  System. 

not  only  lead  to  a  curative  effect  by  compensating  the  workers  for 
their  injuries  in  industrial  establishments  and  for  certain  occupa- 
tional diseases,  but  will  also  act  as  a  powerful  force  in  the  preven- 
tion of  occupational  diseases  and  the  effects  of  industrial  poisonings. 
For,  as  soon  as  the  industry  becomes  cognizant  of  the  fact  that  every 
injury,  impairment  of  health,  or  death  of  the  worker  in  industry 
must  be  compensated,  it  will  then  become  apparent  that  it  is  per- 
haps cheaper  for  the  industry  to  eliminate  the  dangerous  elements. 
Sickness  and  General  Social  Insurance.  The  social  protection 
extended  by  state  and  society  to  all  industrial  workers  is  bound  J 


478  THE  MODEEN  FACTOEY 

to  go  still  further.  For  thirty  years  Germany  has  had  a  social 
insurance  law  which  is  a  model  of  its  kind,  and  has  been  copied 
by  other  states  in  Europe.  In  that  law  provision  has  been  made 
for  a  general  insurance  of  workers  in  case  of  sickness,  invalidity, 
disablement  from  disease  and  old  age,  and  in  case  of  death.  Aus- 
tria, Switzerland  and,  lately,  England  have  followed  the  example 
of  Germany  and  have  enacted  extensive  social  insurance  laws 
protecting  the  whole  industrial  population  against  disease,  invalidity 
and  old  age.  Social  insurance  is  now  a  live,  burning  question 
in  the  United  States.  It  is  an  inevitable  step  following  the  enact- 
ment of  workmen's  compensation  laws.  No  one  can  prophesy 
how  soon  social  insurance  may  become  a  living  fact  in  the  United 
States;  but  no  one  can  doubt  that  it  will  come. 

Industrial  Protection.  The  general  methods  of  prevention  of 
industrial  diseases  by  legislative  and  social  protection  are  but  a 
part  of  the  scheme  to  put  industry  on  a  healthy  basis,  to  avoid 
all  preventable  diseases,  and  give  proper  protection  to  the  working 
class  in  industry.  The  important  prophylactic  measures  are  those 
which  may  be  designated  as  industrial  protection.  They  are 
imposed  upon  industry  and  upon  employers  in  the  endeavor  to  free 
work  from  its  concomitant  dangers  and  hazards. 

Prohibition  and  Substitution.  Many  of  the  poisonous  materials 
used  in  industry  and  art  are  not  absolutely  indispensable.  They 
are  valuable;  they  seem  to  be  necessary;  they  are  convenient 
and  commonly  used.  It  is  possible,  however,  to  replace  some  of 
them  by  harmless  materials.  Even  when  the  poisonous  materials 
cannot  be  replaced,  it  has  been  determined  judicially  that  a  state 
has  a  right  to  prohibit  their  use  in  the  interest  of  public  health. 
Such  prohibition,  however,  is  not  always  necessary,  as  experience 
has  shown  that  a  great  many  of  the  most  harmful  substances  may  be 
and  are  being  replaced  by  non-poisonous  or  less  poisonous  materials. 

Perhaps  the  best  example  of  a  poisonous  substance  being 
legislated  out  of  industry  is  the  history  of  the  international  agree- 
ment to  eliminate  white  'or  yellow  phosphorus  in  the  match  indus- 
try. For  years  phosphorus  poisoning  and  horrible  necrosis  of  the 
jaw  were  rampant  among  the  workers  in  phosphorus  match  fac- 
tories. Due  to  agitation  and  to  the  vigorous  protests  against 
the  baneful  results  of  the  poisonous  phosphorus,  a  non-poisonous 
substance,  the  sesquisulphid  of  phosphorus,  was  discovered  and 
successfully  applied  in  the  match  industry,  thus,  with  one  stroke, 
freeing  the  whole  industry  from  a  terrible  burden. 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  479 

Strenuous  attempts  are  being  made  in  a  number  of  countries 
to  lessen  the  dangers,  of  lead  poisoning,  the  most  prolific  cause 
of  industrial  poisoning,  by  finding  some  substitute  for  the  dangerous 
lead.  White  lead  has  been  successfully  replaced  by  zinc  white  in 
both  exterior  and  interior  painting,  though  the  painting  trade 
still  clamors  for  white  lead,  claiming  certain  superiorities  for  its 
use,  especially  for  exterior  decoration.  It  has  been  found,  however, 
that  zinc  white  serves  the  purpose  nearly  as  well,  that  the  cost  of 
the  two  products  is  about  the  same,  and  that  for  interior  painting 
white  zinc  is  superior  to  lead  because  it  does  not  turn  yellow.  For 
exterior  surfaces,  white  zinc  has  proved  excellent  when  used  in 
the  proper  manner.  Experiments  have  been  made  by  the  Society 
of  Public  Medicine  and  Sanitation  in  concert  with  the  Society  of 
Painters  and  Contractors  of  the  City  of  Paris  in  regard  to  the  com- 
parative merits  of  white  lead  and  white  zinc  paint,  both  on  the 
exterior  and  interior  of  the  annex  of  the  Pasteur  Institute.  The 
result  of  these  experiments  showed  that  white  zinc  was  entirely  or 
very  nearly  equivalent  to  lead  under  many  different  conditions.* 
In  France,  the  use  of  all  white  lead  in  painting  has  been  prohibited 
by  law,  the  prohibition  to  take  effect  on  January  1,  1915.  In  Swit- 
zerland, white  lead  cannot  be  used  on  any  government  work. 

There  are  also  other  zinc  preparations  which  may  be  substi- 
tuted for  white  lead  in  painting.  Red  lead  paint,  which  is  used 
on  metals,  can  be  replaced  by  gray  zincs,  which  are  composed  of 
pulverized  zinc.  Zinc  white  or  barium  white  and  manganese 
dryers  may  be  used  in  place  of  white  lead  and  lead  dryers  in  lacquer 
and  ebony  work.  Zinc  oxide,  sulphate  of  barium  or  talc  are  gen- 
erally used  nowadays  in  place  of  lead  by  designers  of  embroideries 
or  laces. 

Zinc  white  and  sulphate  of  barium  have  been  substituted  for 
lead  in  making  the  foundation,  the  mordants,  the  colors  and  the 
porcelain  glazes  used  in  the  paper  industry.  It  can  also  be  used  for 
var'ous  papers  colored  in  yellows  or  greens  by  chrome  yellow, 
which  is  lead  chromate.  Zinc  chromates  have  been  substituted 
for  lead  chromates. 

In  all  pottery  work  and  enamels  a  large  proportion  of  white  or 
colored  lead  is  used.  In  some  of  the  pottery  work  the  proportion 
of  lead  is  less  than  20  per  cent,  but  some  potteries  use  a  larger  per- 
centage. This  matter  has  been  given  much  attention  especially 
in  England  and  France.  It  has  been  demonstrated  by  many  experi- 

*  Courtois-Suffit  et  Levi-Sirugue:  Hygiene  Industrielle,  p.  414. 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

ments  that  it  is  practicable  to  make  pottery  glazes  without  lead 
ingredients,  that  it  is  possible  to  diminish  the  use  of  lead  glaze 
for  certain  colors,  and  that  a  leadless  glaze  has  been  and  is  being 
widely  used.  There  are  a  number  of  formulas  for  leadless  glazes 
as  well  as  leadless  enamels. 

In  the  polishing  of  glass  a  lead  powder  was  formerly  and  is 
still  widely  used.  This,  however,  has  been  successfully  replaced 
by  an  iron  oxide  rouge  which  is  extensively  used  in  this  country 
for  all  glass  polishing. 

In  the  manufacture  of  certain  colors,  a  mixture  of  Prussian  blue 
and  zinc  yellow  is  often  substituted  for  arsenic  green;  and  in 
dyeing  materials  it  is  possible  to  avoid  the  use  of  poisonous  green 
dyes  by  suitable  substitutes. 

Nitrate  of  silver  is  at  present  widely  used  instead  of  mercury 
in  coating  mirrors.  It  is  replaced  by  glycerine  in  the  manufacture 
of  air  pumps,  and  substitutes  have  been  found  for  mercury  in  a 
number  of  other  industries.  In  the  manufacture  of  incandescent 
lamps  the  danger  of  mercurial  poisoning  has  been  done  away  with 
by  using  vacuum  pumps  without  mercury. 

Tetrachloride  of  carbon,  which  is  non-toxic  and  the  vapors  of 
which  are  not  inflammable,  has  been  successfully  substituted  for 
benzine  and  other  poisonous  solvents  used  for  fatty  materials,  rub- 
ber, resins,  etc. 

It  is  manifest,  therefore,  that  with  industrial  and  hygienic 
progress,  it  is  possible  to  eliminate  a  great  many  of  the  toxic  mate- 
rials by  substituting  for  harmful  substances  less  harmful  or  non- 
harmful  ones.  It  is,  however,  necessary  for  the  state  or  society 
to  accelerate  industrial  and  hygienic  progress  by  legislative  enact- 
ments, without  the  incentive  of  which  the  captains  of  industry  do 
not  seem  to  be  anxious  to  prevent  many  of  the  industrial  diseases. 

Wet  and  Automatic  Processes.  Where  poisonous  materials  are 
dangerous  because  of  the  dust  created,  the  adoption  of  wet  processes 
or  of  automatic  machinery  eliminates  the  danger.  This  matter  has 
been  fully  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  dusts.  I  have  seen  a 
number  of  white-lead  factories  where  no  dry  grinding  of  lead  was 
done,  which  were  entirely  free  from  lead  dust.  The  wet  process 
should  be  extended  to  all  poisonous  materials  wherever  possible. 

In  processes  where  the  wet  method  cannot  be  adopted  it  is  often 
possible  to  use  automatic  machinery  which  would  eliminate  poison- 
ous dust.  I  have  already  referred  to  the  example  of  the  manu- 
facture of  bleach  powders.  This  work,  which  is  extremely  danger- 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES 


481 


ous,  has  become  innocuous  with  the  adoption  of  the  Hasenclever 
method,  an  illustration  of  which  is  given  on  page  422.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  automatic  methods  and  machinery  may  be  invented 
in  many  other  dusty  and  poisonous  processes,  which  would  decrease 
the  dangers  of  industrial  poisons. 

Removal  of  Dust,  Gases  and  Fumes.  Wherever  poisonous  ^hist, 
gases  or  fumes  are  evolved  in  industry  the  principle  of  their  imme- 
diate removal  at  their  place  of  origin  should  be  applied.  Such 


Dannebers  &  Quancl.  Berlin. 

An  Electro-plating  Shop  of  a  Metal  Pipe  Factory  in  Germany,  Showing  an 
Efficient  Removal  of  Fumes  and  Proper  Protection  of  Workers. 

removal   is   feasible    and  is   successfully  accomplished  in   a  large 
number  of  factories. 

The  removal  of  poisons  by  exhausts,  fans,  etc.,  does  not  differ 
from  the  methods  described  in  the  removal  of  dust.  When  dealing 
with  gases  and  fumes,  modifications  in  the  hoods,  tubes  and  methods 
of  removal  must,  of  course,  be  made  with  regard  to  the  substance 
which  is  to  be  removed.  The  illustrations  on  this  and  next  page 
show  some  of  the  methods  used  in  Germany  for  the  removal  of  gases 
and  fumes  in  electroplating  establishments.  Much  attention  is 
paid  to  this  matter  in  the  Charlottenburg  Museum  of  Safety,  where 


482 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


special  investigations  and  studies  are  being  pursued  all  the  time 
for  the  discovery  of  the  best  methods  of  removal  of  gases  and 
fumes.  Some  of  these  methods,  if  adopted,  would  certainly  elimi- 
nate much  of  the  danger  of  inhalation  of  various  gases  and  fumes 

in  industry. 

Sanitary  Protection  and  Prevention.    It  is  unnecessary  to  enter 
in  detail  into  the  general  sanitary  prophylactic  measures  to  be 


Ferdinand  Baume  Nuremberg. 

Another  Method  of  Local  Ventilation  to  Remove  the  Fumes  in  an  Electro- 
plating Shop  in  Nuremberg,  Germany. 

used  in  industrial  establishments  where  poisonous  dusts,  gases 
and  fumes  are  found.  The  sanitary  precautions  are  those  which 
have  been  described  in  previous  chapters  and  relate  to  proper 
construction  of  walls,  ceilings  and  floors,  to  the  safeguarding  of 
machinery,  to  the  provision  for  adequate  lighting  and  ventilation, 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  483 

and  to  the  installation  of  sufficient  drinking,  washing  and  other 
sanitary  facilities.  The  sanitation  of  factories  in  dangerous  trades 
is  an  even  more  important  matter  than  the  general  sanitation  of 
industrial  establishments. 

Medical  Protection.  Personal  Hygiene.  Work  in  dangerous 
trades  demands  extra  precautions  for  individual  health.  The 
worker  must  be  instructed  in  the  principles  of  hygiene  and  incul- 
cated with  habits  of  personal  cleanliness  and  care.  A  worker 
who  knows  the  risks  and  dangers  of  his  calling  and  who  practices 
all  the  precepts  of  personal  hygiene  will  not  fall  a  prey  to  indus- 
trial poisons,  gases  and  fumes  as  easily  as  the  careless,  slovenly 
and  uncleanly  worker.  The  matter  of  proper  washing  of  the  hands, 
face,  etc.,  the  cleaning  of  the  teeth  and  washing  of  the  mouth,  fre- 
quent bathing,  wearing  of  proper  clothes  outside  and  inside  of  the 
factory,  the  use  of  nourishing  and  simple  foods,  the  taking  of 
frequent  exercise  and  wise  use  of  the  time  for  recreation — all  play 
an  important  part  in  the  health  of  the  worker. 

In  some  of  the  factories  in  Germany,  factory  owners  and  medical 
supervisors  have  not  only  instructed  the  worker  in  general  hygiene 
and  in  special  prevention  of  the  dangers  of  his  calling,  but  have 
attempted  to  give  a  daily  schedule  of  the  life  of  the  worker  in  the 
factory.  One  such  schedule  is  cited  by  Blum  in  a  hygienic  plan  for 
lead-workers.*  The  schedule  is  as  follows: 

(1)  Breakfast  at  home,  vegetable  soup,  etc. 

(2)  On  arriving  at  factory,  removal  of  street  clothes  and  donning 
overalls,  etc. 

(3)  Work  for  1|  to  2  hours. 

(4)  Pause  of  J  hour,  }  hour  of  which  is  for  removing  overalls, 
scrubbing  of  hands  for  one  minute  with  a  0.1  per  cent  solution  of 
sodium  sulphide,  afterwards  scrubbing  hands  with  sand  soap,  water 
and  brush;    washing  face  and  using  mouth  wash  containing  0.1 
per  cent  of  solution  of  sodium  sulphide,  then  }  hour  pause. 

(5)  Change  clothes  and  work  for  1J  hours. 

(6)  Noon-day  pause.     Before  pause  J  hour  to  be  used  for  the 
purposes  of  dressing  and  washing  according  to  same  routine. 

(7)  Work  from  1|  to  2  hours. 

(8)  J-hour  pause  and  }  hour  for  cleaning  and  washing  as  before. 

(9)  Work  for  1J  or  more  hours. 

(10)  i  hour  before  stopping  work  for  dressing  and  washing  before 
leaving  the  factory. 

*  Dammer:  Handbuch  der  Arbeiterwohlfahrt. 


484  THE  MODERN  FACTOK^ 

Under  such  a  regime,  the  worker  would  have  to  use  about  one 
hour  a  day  for  washing  and  dressing  purposes  alone,  and  about 
1|  hours  during  the  day  for  pauses.  This  is  probably  more  than 
American  employers  would  permit  unless  such  a  daily  routine  is 
made  compulsory  by  law. 

First  Aid.  The  need  of  an  organization  for  first  aid  in  every 
factory  is  self-evident.  In  all  factories  the  workers  are  subject 
to  various  accidental  injuries  and  diseases,  and  in  every  industrial 
plant  there  should  be  some  means  for  treating  such  cases. 

The  medical  and  surgical  cases  which  may  need  treatment  in 
a  factory  are  burns,  wounds,  amputations,  fractures,  dislocations, 
hemorrhages,  acute  poisoning,  acute  gassing,  or  loss  of  conscious- 
ness due  to  various  causes,  such  as  shock,  heat,  epilepsy,  gassing, 
etc. 

In  all  such  cases  time  is  very  precious  and  life  may  often  be 
saved  by  prompt  attendance  and  treatment.  This  is  possible 
only  when  there  is  some  organization  for  first  aid  in  each  factory. 

The  organization  for  first  aid  implies  (a)  proper  place,  (6) 
proper  personnel,  (c)  adequate  instruction  and  education  of  the 
personnel,  (d)  sufficient  and  proper  appliances,  (e)  materials,  drugs, 
etc.,  which  may  be  necessary  and  are  to  be  used. 

Many  factories  have  special  dispensaries  or  clinics  where  first 
aid  is  given  to  injured  employes.  In  some  factories  the  foremen 
or  superintendents  are  the  persons  who  administer  the  first  aid. 
In  larger  factories  and  in  some  large  corporations  special  crews  or 
corps  have  been  specially  trained  for  this  purpose,  and  nurses  and 
physicians  are  drawn  into  the  service  of  the  first-aid  organization. 
In  a  great  many  establishments  notices  are  posted  as  to  various 
methods  of  first  aid,  as  to  proper  treatment  of  burns,  loss  of  con- 
sciousness, etc.  These  notices,  however,  are  of  very  little  value 
unless  there  are  persons  instructed  in  the  work  whose  duty  it  is 
to  administer  the  first  aid. 

Among  the  appliances  especially  needed  in  large  establish- 
ments are  stretchers,  pulmotors,  oxygen  tanks,  and  various  other 
appliances  and  devices  for  resuscitation  and  treatment.  Among 
the  materials  and  drugs  which  are  found  in  a  great  many  factories 
besides  cotton,  gauze  and  splints,  are  also  various  disinfectants 
and  neutralizing  agents  according  to  the  character  of  the  material 
which  is  used  in  the  industrial  establishment. 

Medical  Supervision.  An  important  phase  of  protection  in 
dangerous  trades  is  a  complete  system  of  medical  supervision. 


INDUSTRIAL  POISONS,  GASES  AND  FUMES  485 

Such  a  system  embraces  the  following:  (1)  preliminary  examina- 
tion, (2)  periodical  reexamination,  (3)  dispensary  and  clinic  treat- 
ment, (4)  sanitary  supervision  of  the  plant,  (5)  supervision  of  the 
personal  hygiene  of  the  workers,  (6)  medical  and  hygienic  instruc- 
tion and  education  of  the  workers,  and  (7)  general  medical  care  of 
the  workers  and  their  families. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  into  the  detail  of  the  items  belonging 
to  a  general  scheme  of  medical  supervision  in  factories  in  danger- 
ous trades.  Reference  has  been  made  to  this  subject  in  various 
parts  of  the  book. 

The  need  of  medical  supervision  in  industrial  plants  has  been 
emphasized  over  and  over  again.  The  importance  of  preliminary 
examination  of  workers  is  self-evident  in  all  work  in  dangerous 
trades  where  the  health  of  the  candidate  for  work  must  be  perfect 
in  order  to  prevent  industrial  poisoning.  A  periodical  reexamina- 
tion of  workers  in  dangerous  trades  is  also  necessary  in  order  to 
detect  incipient  symptoms  of  poisoning  and  to  take  the  proper 
precautions  to  prevent  further  inroads  of  disease.  Daily  treat- 
ment in  dispensaries  and  clinics  is  necessary  to  prevent  the  spread 
of  industrial  disease  and  to  cure  incipient  cases. 

The  medical  supervisor  in  a  factory  in  a  dangerous  trade  should 
exercise  general  sanitary  supervision  over  the  plant,  so  as  to  be 
sure  that  the  general  sanitary  cleanliness,  light  and  ventilation 
receive  proper  attention.  The  medical  supervisor  of  such  a  plant 
should  also  take  special  care  of  the  personal  hygiene  of  the  work- 
ers, especially  in  regard  to  sanitary  and  hygienic  instructions  to 
foremen  and  workers  in  teaching  them  the  dangers  of  their  trade 
and  the  risks  of  their  calling,  and  instructing  th  m  in  the  methods 
of  prevention  and  personal  care.  He  must  also  supervise  the 
wearing  by  the  workers  of  special  clothing,  gloves,  goggles,  and 
respirators  which  are  necessary  in  the  dangerous  trades. 

The  proper  organization  of  this  work  implies  also  an  intimate 
influence  of  the  medical  supervisor  not  only  upon  the  workers 
within  the  factory,  but  also  upon  their  home  relations  and  sur- 
roundings. 

Only  by  such  a  comprehensive  scheme  of  medical  supervision 
of  work  and  workers  in  dangerous  trades  can  we  hope  to  eliminate 
the  dangers  of  industrial  poisoning,  and  to  prevent  many  of  the 
occupational  diseases  to  which  such  a  large  number  of  workers 
succumb. 


CHAPTER  XI 
FACTORY   LEGISLATION 

I 
GROWTH  AND  TENDENCIES  OF  FACTORY  LEGISLATION 

ALL  labor  legislation  began  with  the  protection  of  children. 
This  protection  was  gradually  extended  to  women  and  finally  to 
all  adults.  Only  after  a  considerable  period  of  such  general 
legislation  were  any  attempts  made  to  improve  working  conditions 
in  factories  and  workshops. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  modern  factory  system  there  was 
strenuous  opposition  on  the  part  of  manufacturers  and  employers 
to  any  restrictive  legislation.  While  this  opposition  was  chiefly 
directed  against  any  limitations  imposed  on  the  labor  of  women  or 
children,  all  state  interference  with  working  conditions  in  the  factory 
was  bitterly  fought  by  the  manufacturers,  who  claimed  that  the 
state  had  no  right  to  interfere  in  contracts  between  employers  and 
employes  or  to  supervise  the  conditions  under  which  work  was  carried 
on.  It  was  only  when  the  principle  of  state  regulation  of  industry 
had  been  firmly  established  that  factory  legislation,  me  a  ing  by  this 
legislation  for  the  improvement  of  working  conditions  within  the 
factory,  became  an  integral  part  of  general  labor  legislation. 

Early  Factory  Legislation  in  Europe.  The  first  labor  legislation 
in  England,  and  in  the  whole  world,  was  the  Factory  Act  of  1802, 
which  applied  only  to  cotton  factories  with  more  than  three  appren- 
tices or  with  twenty  other  persons  at  work  and  which,  as  its  name 
indicated,  "The  Health  and  Morals  of  Apprentices  Act,"  was 
promulgated  chiefly  for  the  protection  of  apprentice  children  in 
factories,  whose  exploitation  and  abuse  was  so  vividly  described 
in  the  reports  of  Parliamentary  Commissions.  This  first  act  already 
contained  embryonic  sanitary  provisions  in  a  clause  calling  for  the 
whitewashing  of  mills  and  factories  twice  a  year.  The  subsequent 
Acts  of  1819, 1825,  and  1831  contained  numerous  provisions  restrict- 

486 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  487 

ing  the  work  of  children  and  young  persons,  but  added  little  to  the 
sanitary  provisions  of  the  first  law.  Indeed,  the  sole  sanitary  pro- 
vision existing  was  greatly  attenuated  by  decreasing  the  required 
number  of  whitewashings  from  twice  a  year  to  once  in  twelve  months. 

The  chief  importance  of  the  next  Act  of  1844  lies  in  the  fact 
that  this  Act  was  the  first  to  include  women  among  protected  per- 
sons. They  were  placed  in  the  same  class  as  young  persons  from 
twelve  to  fourteen  years,  whose  hours  of  labor  were  limited  to  twelve 
daily  and  to  sixty-nine  weekly.  This  Act  also  contained  the  first 
provision  for  accident  prevention.  It  prohibited  the  cleaning  of 
machinery  while  in  motion,  and  required  the  fencing  of  flywheels 
and  the  safeguarding  of  dangerous  parts  of  machinery.  Provision 
was  also  made  to  protect  working  people  from  excessive  damp- 
ness in  the  process  of  wet  spinning.  The  one  sanitary  requirement 
of  the  former  laws  was  still  further  weakened  by  making  white- 
washing in  factories  obligatory  only  once  in  fourteen  months,  and 
painting  only  once  in  seven  years. 

The  Acts  after  1844  and  up  to  1878,  when  all  the  factory  laws 
were  consolidated,  are  significant  in  that  they  mark  the  steady 
extension  of  the  scope  of  factory  legislation  and  the  further  limita- 
tion and  restriction  of  the  work  and  hours  of  labor  of  women,  young 
persons,  and  children,  and  the  extension  of  all  provisions  of  the 
law  to  all  industries.  During  this  time  occurred  the  battle  of  manu- 
facturers organized  in  the  National  Factory  Owners'  Association 
against  accident-prevention  provisions  of  the  law,  especially  against 
the  fencing-in  of  horizontal  shafts  more  than  7  feet  from  the  floor. 
By  the  consolidated  Factory  Act  of  1878,  labor  and  factory  legisla- 
tion was  established  on  a  firm  basis  and  state  regulation  was 
gradually  extended  until  it  embraced  all  working  conditions  within 
the  factory. 

No  serious  attempt  at  factory  legislation  was  made  in  France 
until  late  in  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  although 
a  number  of  attempts  were  previously  made  to  protect  children  in 
industries;  and  the  first  Act  of  1813  prohibited  the  work  of  children 
under  ten  years  in  mines,  and  made  other  protective  provisions  in 
this  industry.  The  Law  of  1841,  and  the  subsequent  Laws  of  1848, 
while  giving  some  protection  to  children  and  women,  contained  no 
provisions  for  the  supervision  of  industrial  conditions  within  the 
factory.  Very  little  progress  was  made  until  1874,  when  a  special 
inspection  service  was  organized  and  some  standards  set  for  the 
improvement  of  sanitary  conditions  in  the  workshops.  Since  that 


488  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

time,  by  the  labor  Laws  of  1882,  1883,  1892,  etc,,  the  extent  of 
protection  given  to  certain  persons  was  increased  and  in  1893  the 
Hygiene  and  Security  Law  was  passed,  in  which  detailed  provision 
was  made  for  sanitary  conditions  in  industrial  establishments. 

In  Germany  the  first  act  to  regulate  the  employment  of  young 
persons  in  factories  was  passed  in  1839;  but  not  until  1869  was 
the  Industrial  Code  for  the  North  German  Union  promulgated  and 
an  attempt  made  to  regulate  working  conditions  in  factories  by 
Article  107,  which  contained  a  general  provison  that  every  manu- 
facturer should,  at  his  own  cost,  establish  and  maintain  all  necessary 
appliances  for  safeguarding  employes  against  dangers  to  health  and 
life.  This  provision  was  extended  by  Article  120  of  the  Industrial 
Code  of  1891,  which  is  at  present  the  basis  of  all  factory  legislation 
in  Germany.  The  provisons  of  the  Act  are  general  in  character; 
but  the  inspectors  and  the  local  authorities  have  power  to  define 
exactly  the  provisions  of  this  Article.  The  essence  of  Article  120, 
upon  which  all  factory  legislation  is  based,  reads  as  follows: 

"  Employers  are  to  establish  and  maintain  their  establishments, 
their  workrooms,  machines  and  utensils  so  as  to  protect  workers, 
as  far  as  the  nature  of  the  industry  permits,  against  dangers  to 
life  and  health.  Especially  are  they  to  provide  for  sufficient  light, 
adequate  air  space  and  air  change,  removal  of  gases,  dust  and 
fumes  arising  in  the  process  of  the  industry.  They  are  also  to  pro- 
vide such  devices  as  are  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  workers 
against  dangerous  machinery  or  parts  of  machines,  or  against  any 
other  dangers  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  nature  of  industrial  pro- 
cesses; also  those  dangers  which  arise  from  factory  fires.  In  estab- 
lishments where,  because  of  the  nature  of  the  process  it  is  necessary 
for  the  workers  to  undress  and  to  cleanse  themselves  after  work, 
special  washing-  and  dressing-rooms  must  be  established." 

In  other  countries,  factory  legislation  began  much  later  than 
in  the  countries  named.  Labor  legislation  in  Austria  began  with 
the  Law  of  1852,  and  was  followed  by  the  Industrial  Code  of  1859, 
and  the  revised  Industrial  Code  of  1885,  although  there  was  some 
legislation  for  the  protection  of  children  prior  to  the  first  act. 
Only  after  the  Law  of  1883,  when  a  factory  inspection  department 
was  established,  was  recognition  given  to  the  importance  of  sanitary 
conditions  within  the  factory,  and  inspectors  given  the  right  to 
investigate  and  make  recommendations  for  their  improvement. 
The  present  Industrial  Code  of  Austria  contains  in  Article  74  a  gen- 
eral provision  for  the  improving  of  factory  conditions  which  closely 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  489 

follows  the  wording  of  the  German  Article  120  of  the  Code.     It 
reads  as  follows: 

"  Every  employer  is  obliged  to  establish  and  maintain  at  his 
own  cost  all  such  sanitary  appliances  and  devices,  and  to  furnish 
all  safeguards  as,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  industries  and  pro- 
cesses, may  be  needed  for  the  protection  of  the  health  and  life  of  the 
employes.  He  must  take  care  that  all  machines,  their  parts  and  all 
their  appliances  should  be  so  arranged  that  injuries  to  workers 
may  not  easily  be  possible.  He  must  also  make  provisions  for 
proper  light,  cleanliness,  and  freedom  from  dust  in  the  workrooms, 
for  the  needed  artificial  illumination,  for  change  of  air  in  the  rooms 
corresponding  to  the  number  of  workers,  for  prevention  of  injurious 
gases  and  fumes,  and  for  the  conduct  of  industry  and  its  processes 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  protect  the  health  of  the  employes." 

Upon  these  provisions  are  based  the  detailed  rules  and  regula- 
tions issued  by  the  ministers  and  other  industrial  authorities. 

Early  Factory  Legislation  in  the  United  States.  Early  factory 
legislation  in  the  United  States,  as  in  Great  Britain,  began  first 
with  laws  protecting  child-workers  in  cotton  factories  and  mills. 
The  first  cotton  mill  in  America  was  established  in  Rhode  Island, 
in  1790,  and  began  to  work  with  four  spinners  and  carders;  but 
five  children  were  soon  added,  whose  ages  ranged  from  seven  to  twelve 
years.  The  number  of  children  in  the  industry  rapidly  increased. 
In  a  letter  written  by  Samuel  Slater,  the  founder  of  the  American 
Cotton  Industry,  in  1827,  he  says:  "Wool  business  requires  more 
man-labor,  and  this  we  study  to  avoid."  So  successfully  did  Slater 
and  his  fellow-employers  avoid  man-labor  that  in  1831  the  number 
of  children  working  in  the  cotton  mills  in  Rhode  Island  was  almost 
half  of  the  total  number  of  employes. 

It  took  some  time  before  public  opinion  in  America  was  aroused 
on  the  subject  of  child-labor.  Our  forefathers  were  accustomed 
to  see  children  busily  occupied  about  the  house  and  on  the  farm, 
and  they  had  no  experience  to  enable  them  to  see  the  difference 
between  such  occupations  and  factory  work,  with  its  long,  confining 
hours  and  bad  effects  upon  the  physique  and  character  of  the  chil- 
dren. Indeed,  the  cotton  manufacturers  were  considered  great 
benefactors  of  the 'community  in  so  far  as  they  employed  women  and 
children  in  mills. 

Massachusetts  took  the  first  steps  in  factory  legislation.  Char- 
acteristically, it  was  concern  lest  the  education  of  the  children 
should  be  neglected,  which  led  to  the  passage  of  the  first  law  pro- 


490  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

tecting  child-workers  in  factories.  This  Act  of  1836  provided  that 
"  no  child  under  fifteen  years  shall  be  employed  to  labor  in  manu- 
facturing establishments  unless  such  child  shall  have  attended 
school  at  least  three  months  out  of  the  twelve  next  preceding  any 
and  every  year  in  which  such  child  shall  be  so  employed."  In  1842 
this  Act  was  amended  to  provide  a  ten-hour  working  day  for  chil- 
dren under  twelve  years  of  age. 

In  1842,  Connecticut,  following  the  example  of  Massachusetts, 
passed  a  law  requiring  three  months'  schooling  per  year  for  every 
child  under  fifteen  working  in  factories  in  the  state,  and  a  ten-hour 
day  for  children  under  fourteen  years. 

In  1847,  the  legislature  of  Maine  passed  a  law  requiring  three 
months  of  schooling  in  each  year  for  every  child  under  fifteen  years, 
and  four  months'  schooling  for  every  child  under  fifteen  working 
in  the  factories  in  the  state.  As  in  Massachusetts,  the  school 
committees  were  to  enforce  this  law  and  could  impose  a  fine  of  fifty 
dollars  upon  every  manufacturer  not  complying  with  its  requirements. 

As  early  as  1827,  Pennsylvania  legislators  were  interested  in  the 
problems  connected  with  child-labor  in  the  cotton  mills  in  the 
state.  A  bill  was  introduced  in  that  year  which  provided  that  no 
minor  between  twelve  and  eighteen  should  be  employed  in  cotton 
or  wool  manufacture  unless  producing  a  certificate  signed  by  the 
school  master  or  two  citizens  that  the  minor  could  read  and  write 
English,  German,  or  some  modern  language,  or  unless  the  manu- 
facturer should  provide  for  instruction  of  said  minor.  The  enforce- 
ment of  the  law  was  left  to  the  tax  assessors.  The  penalty  was 
fixed  at  five  dollars.  The  bill  was  passed  by  the  House  but  thrown 
out  by  the  Senate,  and  no  more  attempts  were  made  to  protect 
children  in  the  mills  until  1837,  when  the  Senate  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  investigate  child-labor.  This  committee  found  that  one- 
fifth  of  the  whole  number  of  workers  employed  in  cotton  mills  in  the 
state  were  under  twelve  years  of  age;  the  working  time  ranged  from 
eleven  to  fourteen  hours  and  their  average  working  week  was 
seventy-two  hours.  This  committee  also  reported  that  only  one- 
third  of  the  cotton-mill  workers  under  eighteen  could  read  or  write. 

No  action,  however,  was  taken  by  the  legislature  to  remedy  these 
evils  until  ten  years  later  when,  in  1848,  a  bill  was  passed  which  for- 
bade the  employment  of  minors  in  any  cotton,  woolen,  silk  or  flax 
factory.  The  bill  provided  a  legal  working  day  of  ten  hours  in 
all  such  factories,  with  a  proviso  that  minors  above  the  age  of  four- 
teen might  be  employed  more  than  ten  hours  by  special  contract 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  491 

with  parents  or  guardians.  In  1849  the  minimum  age  was  raised  to 
thirteen  years  and  the  protection  of  the  law  was  extended  to  paper 
and  bagging  industries. 

Labor  legislation  in  the  United  States,  therefore,  as  in  other 
countries,  began  with  the  protection  of  children;  and  only  very 
much  later  was  any  attention  paid  to  the  improvement  of  working 
conditions  in  the  factory.  In  Massachusetts  the  first  provisions  as 
to  protection  of  steam-machines  were  passed  in  1852,  and  the  super- 
vision of  boilers  was  provided  for  in  1870.  In  1877  the  first  require- 
ments for  dust  removal  were  made.  In  New  York  the  first  school 
law  was  established  in  1852,  and  only  in  1874  was  the  first  compulsory 
.schooling  of  fourteen  weeks'  duration  made  a  law.  In  1886  the  first 
factory  law  to  regulate  employment  of  women  and  children  in  manu- 
facturing establishments  was  passed,  and  only  in  1887  was  cleaning 
of  machinery  while  in  motion  prohibited  and  washing  and  toilet 
rooms  required.  In  1892  provisions  were  made  for  ventilation  and 
overcrowding,  and  the  law  was  extended  to  apply  to  all  establish- 
ments where  persons  were  at  work. 

In  Illinois,  an  Act  to  prevent  and  punish  wrongs  to  children 
was  the  first  attempt  made  to  restrict  child-labor;  and  only  in  1893 
was  a  law  enacted  creating  the  Department  of  Factories  and  Work- 
shops and  regulating  factory  conditions.  Since  that  time,  by  the 
.Acts  of  1897,  1901,  1903,  and  subsequent  acts,  Illinois  has  rapidly 
gained  foremost  rank  in  the  galaxy  of  states  which  are  providing 
progressive  factory  legislation. 

Factory  Legislation  Standards.  In  legislation  regulating  hours 
of  labor,  wages,  night  work,  etc.,  it  has  been  customary  for  legis- 
latures to  state  the  provisions  of  the  law  and  to  promulgate  definite 
rules,  regulations,  and  standards  for  its  enforcement.  Provisions 
for  a  normal  day's  work,  for  prohibition  of  night  work,  for  a 
minimum  age  for  child- workers,  for  the  limitation  of  the  working 
week,  for  payment  of  wages  in  cash,  etc.,  easily  lend  themselves 
to  standardization.  Not  so  with  provisions  regarding  working 
conditions  within  the  factory.  Factory  legislation,  meaning  by 
this  term  legislative  enactments  for  the  prevention  of  industrial 
accidents  and  occupational  diseases,  for  the  promotion  and  preserva- 
tion of  the  health  of  the  workers,  cannot  be  so  readily  standardized. 
Hence,  in  all  countries  and  states  provisions  as  to  construction, 
fire-protection,  light,  ventilation,  safeguarding  of  machinery,  and 
general  sanitation  of  factories,  have  always  been,  and  still  are, 
indefinite  and  unstandardized. 


492  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  German  Industrial  Code,  in  Article  120,  quoted  above, 
states  that  employers  are  obliged  to  provide  such  appliances  as  are 
necessary  to  prevent  dangers  and  risks  to  health  and  life  of  the 
employes.  Similar  provisions  exist  in  the  factory  acts  of  other 
countries.  The  same  conditions  prevail  in  the  United  States.  Our 
factory  legislation  abounds  with  general  provisions,  with  vague  and 
indefinite  rules  and  regulations,  with  terms  such  as  "  proper," 
"  adequate,"  "  suitable,"  "  sufficient,"  "  sufficiently  guarded," 
"  if  practicable,"  "  whenever  necessary,"  "  in  the  discretion  of  the 
commissioner,"  etc.  There  is  hardly  a  paragraph  in  the  state  factory 
laws  which  does  not  contain  these  general  terms,  which  leave  so 
much  to  the  imagination  and  interpretation  of  the  employer  and 
manufacturer  and  so  little  power  of  determination  of  what  is  to  be 
done  to  the  inspector  or  commissioner. 

The  results  of  this  lack  of  definition  are  that  manufacturers  and 
employers  have  no  specific  standards  which  they  can  follow  and  are 
in  doubt  as  to  the  exact  meaning  of  the  law;  that  inspectors  are 
unable  to  enforce  the  vague  provisions  without  arbitrarily  setting 
up  their  own  standards;  that  discretion  must  necessarily  be  given 
to  the  commissioner  to  interpret  the  law ;  that  different  interpreta- 
tions are  made  by  individual  inspectors  and  officials,  and  that  real 
enforcement  of  the  law  becomes  impossible. 

The  chief  reasons  for  the  lack  of  standardization  of  factory  legisla- 
tion is,  that  there  is  an  absence  of  such  standards  among  the  scientists 
themselves.  Hence,  legislators  cannot  be  blamed  for  their  failure 
to  embody  in  factory  legislation  standards  which  do  not  as  yet 
exist.  But  even  if  such  standards  could  be  scientifically  determined, 
it  would  be  unjust  and  impracticable  to  have  these  standards  embrace 
alt  groups  of  industries,  all  kinds  of  industrial  processes,  and  all  sorts 
of  industrial  establishments.  Industrial  conditions  differ  so  much 
from  place  to  place  and  from  time  to  time  that  no  single  standard 
made  by  any  scientific  body  can  possibly  apply  to  all  cases.  If 
standards  are  to  be  set,  if  provisions  are  to  be  made  and  rules  pro- 
mulgated, they  must  be  issued  so  as  to  cover  definite  conditions, 
separate  industries,  and,  at  times,  separate  industrial  estab- 
lishments. 

This  difficulty  is  overcome  somewhat  differently  in  European 
countries  and  in  the  United  States.  In  Europe  the  problem  is 
solved  in  two  ways.  One  is  to  give  the  Secretary  of  State  or  the 
Ministers  having  charge  of  enforcement  of  labor  and  factory  laws 
power  to  issue  from  time  to  time  special  rules  and  regulations,  to 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  493 

set  standards,  and  to  make  such  provisions  for  groups  of  industries 
or  for  special  trades  and  industrial  establishments  as  to  insure  the 
proper  enforcement  of  the  law.  This  method  allows  the  inspec- 
tors no  discretionary  powers  to  set  up  their  own  standards  and 
to  differ  in  their  modes  of  application  of  the  law.  This  is  the 
practice  in  England,  in  France,  in  Austria,  and  in  other  countries. 

On  the  other  hand,  Germany  tries  to  solve  the  same  problem 
not  by  allowing  the  industrial  authorities  to  make  special  rules  and 
regulations,  but  by  selecting  for  inspectors  such  highly  trained 
experts  in  industrial  hygiene  and  safety  that  there  is  no  need  for 
the  setting  of  special  standards  or  for  the  promulgation  of  special 
rules,  leaving  the  application  of  the  general  provisions  of  the  law  to 
the  sound  judgment  and  ripe  experience  of  the  industrial  inspectors. 
This,  of  course,  may  be  done  only  in  a  country  like  Germany, 
where  the  general  standard  of  industrial  hygiene  is  very  high,  where 
there  are  so  many  museums  of  safety  and  chairs  of  industrial 
hygiene  in  the  universities,  and  where  industrial  inspectors  are 
recruited  from  a  most  highly  technically  trained  body  in  any 
country. 

In  the  United  States,  legislators  continue  to  experiment  and 
annually  tinker  with  factory  laws,  and  neither  employers  nor  factory 
inspectors  are  able  to  enforce  the  law  properly.  The  remedy 
which  is  applied  in  some  states  is  the  creation  of  industrial  com- 
missions and  boards.  The  Wisconsin  Industrial  Commission  was 
created  by  the  adoption  of  a  general  provision  "  that  the  Commis- 
sion take  charge  of  the  safety  of  the  workers,"  leaving  the  defini- 
tion of  safety  and  the  making  of  rules  to  the  Commission,  permitting 
it  to  "  make  such  rules  and  regulations  and  set  up  such  provisions 
and  standards  as,  after  proper  investigation,  it  may  deem  fitting." 

With  the  high  character  of  the  personnel  of  the  Industrial 
Commission  of  Wisconsin,  the  remedy  seems  to  have  been  the  right 
one  and  has  worked  well  so  far.  In  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Massachusetts,  Industrial  Boards  have  been  created  with  no  executive 
power  but  the  right  to  investigate  industrial  conditions  and,  after 
proper  investigation  and  conferences  with  those  interested  in  the 
matter,  to  promulgate  an  industrial  code  and  set  special  provisions 
and  standards  for  groups  of  industries  or  industrial  establishments. 
One  cannot  as  yet  judge  what  the  results  of  this  departure  in  fac- 
tory legislation  will  be.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  some  order 
will  be  established  by  these  boards  in  the  anarchy  and  chaos 
hitherto  reigning  in  existing  factory  legislation. 


494  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


II 

REGISTRATION   AND   AUTHORIZATION    OF   INDUSTRIAL 
ESTABLISHMENTS 

No  proper  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  factory  legislation 
is  possible  without  a  knowledge  of  the  location  of  industrial  establish- 
ments in  which  the  law  is  to  be  administered.  All  reports  on 
factory  legislation  and  factory  inspection  have  urged  the  necessity 
for  a  system  of  general  registration  of  all  industrial  establishments 
which  come  under  the  law. 

The  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Inspection  of  Factories, 
etc.,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  registration  of  all  industrial 
establishments  subject  to  inspection  should  be  enforced  by  law. 
"  The  lack  of  authoritative  information  regarding  the  number  and 
location  of  factories,  workshops  and  mercantile  establishments  leaves 
many  loopholes  for  the  evasion  of  labor  laws."  *  "  It  would  seem 
that  the  first  task  of  a  board  entrusted  with  the  administration  of 
these  laws  would  be  to  inform  itself  concerning  the  exact  extent  of 
the  field  in  which  its  work  lies,  and  this  task  involves  registration 
of  all  industrial  establishments  under  its  jurisdiction." 

The  New  York  State  Factory  Commission  also  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  a  general  registration  of  industrial  establishments  was 
necessary;  and  a  law  recommended  by  this  Commission  became 
part  of  the  new  state  law  of  1913.  The  law  reads  as  follows: 

"  The  owner  of  every  factory  shall  register  such  factory  with  the 
state  department  of  labor,  giving  the  name  of  the  owner,  his  home 
address,  the  address  of  his  business,  the  name  under  which  it  is  car- 
ried on,  the  number  of  employes  and  such  other  data  as  the  commis- 
sioner of  labor  may  require.  Such  registration  of  existing  factories 
shall  be  made  within  six  months  after  this  section  takes  effect. 
Factories  hereafter  established  shall  be  so  registered  within  thirty 
days  after  the  commencement  of  business.  Within  thirty  days  after 
a  change  in  the  location  of  a  factory  the  owner  thereof  shall  file 
with  the  commissioner  of  labor  the  new  address  of  the  business, 
together  with  such  other  information  as  the  commissioner  of  labor 
may  require." 

.  Outside  of  New  York  State  there  is,  however,  no  state  that  has 
as  yet  introduced  compulsory  registration  of  factories;  although 

*  Massachusetts:  Report  of  the  Commission  to  Investigate  the  Inspection  of  Factories,  etc., 
p.  76. 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  495 

the  principle  that  the  state  has  a  right  to  insist  upon  a  license  or 
authorization  for  certain  industrial  undertakings  is  well  established. 
Certain  trades,  such  as  plumbing,  which  have  important  bearing 
upon  public  health,  must  be  licensed;  and  in  certain  states  bakeries, 
dairies,  slaughter-houses,  etc.,  must  apply  for  a  license  for  each 
establishment. 

In  European  countries  not  only  registration  but  authorization 
and  licensing  of  trades  is  a  firmly  established  principle,  and  has  been 
accepted  by  many  legislatures.  The  English  provision  for  registra- 
tion reads  that  "  every  person  within  one  month  from  the  begin- 
ning of  occupation  in  a  factory  or  workshop  is  required  to  serve  a 
written  notice  on  the  district  inspector  stating  the  name  of  the 
factory  or  workshop,  its  location,  business  address,  nature  and  amount 
of  motive  power  of  factory,  nature  of  work,  and  name  of  the  firm. 
The  district  inspector  is  required  to  forward  this  notice  to  the  dis- 
trict council  in  the  district  in  which  this  workshop  is  situated." 

In  continental  countries  the  law  goes  much  further.  Accord- 
ing to  Article  16  of  the  Industrial  Code  of  Germany,  authorization 
is  demanded  from  the  proper  authorities  for  the  establishment 
of  such  plants  which,  because  of  their  location  or  because  of  the 
nature  of  the  operations  within  them,  may  cause  considerable  dangers, 
injuries  or  nuisance  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  places 
or  to  the  general  public.  The  Code  gives  a  list  of  26  various  plants 
and  groups  of  plants  which  need  authorization  and  which  may  be 
added  to  or  changed  by  special  resolutions  of  the  Federal  Council 
with  the  sanction  of  the  Reichstag. 

The  application  for  authorization  must  contain  a  description 
of  the  proposed  plant,  a  plan  of  location,  and  a  construction  plan. 
Plans  and  description  must  cover  the  following  points: 
(a)  The  size  of  the  plot. 

(6)  A  map  of  the  surrounding  property  and  the  names  of 
its  owners. 

(c)  The  distance  between  the  proposed  establishment  and 

the   adjacent    buildings,   establishments,  and   public 
highways. 

(d)  The  height  and  form  of  construction  of  the  adjacent 

buildings. 

(e)  The  location,  extension  and  form  of  construction  of  the 

proposed  establishment. 

(/)  The  designation  of  each  room  and  its  general  arrange- 
ment. 


496  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

(g)  The  object  of  the  establishment. 

(h)  Principles  of  the  various  processes  and  of  the  apparata 
utilized. 

(i)  The  expected  extensions  of  the  establishment. 

0')  The  gases  formed  and  the  devices  used  to  prevent  the 
formation  of  the  gases. 

(k)  The  character  of   the  fluid  and  solid  waste    products, 

also  the  methods  of  their  disposal. 

A  commission  of  experts  then  reports  upon  the  authorization, 
and  public  hearings  are  held  in  case  objections  are  made  to  any  of 
the  details  of  the  proposed  establishment.  The  members  of  the 
commission  are  usually  the  district  physician,  chemist,  architect, 
industrial  inspectors,  and  others.  Appeals  may  be  taken  from  the 
decision  of  the  district  commission  to  the  higher  industrial  authorities. 
In  Austria  all  trades  must  be  registered,  and  the  Code  requires 
that  one  desiring  to  enter  any  trade  or  establish  any  plant  must 
give  due  notice  to  the  proper  authorities.  A  tax  varying  accord- 
ing to  the  location,  is  levied,  and  objections  may  be  entered  against 
the  conduct  of  such  establishment.  Aside  from  this  general  registra- 
tion of  free  trades,  there  is  a  list  of  thirty-one  trades,  industries 
and  groups  of  trades  for  which  a  special  license  is  required.  A 
license  is  also  required  in  every  establishment  where,  because  of 
furnaces,  steam-machines,  motors  or  water  works,  or  because  of 
influences  injurious  to  health  or  safety,  or  because  of  foul  odors, 
or  excessive  noise,  it  may  injure  or  become  a  nuisance  to  the  neigh- 
borhood. Provisions  are  made  for  the  forms  of  application,  for 
the  hearings  before  the  various  authorities,  and  for  appeals,  etc., 
upon  these  applications. 

Belgium  requires  authorization  for  certain  classes  of  establish- 
ments having  special  dangers  or  those  which  are  unsafe,  unhealthy 
or  unsuitable.  The  scope  of  the  classification  of  such  establishments 
requiring  authorization  is  so  wide  that  it  includes  nearly  every 
type  of  factory. 

The  application  for  authorization  must  set  forth  the  nature  of 
the  establishment,  the  objects  of  manufacture,  the  apparata  and 
processes  to  be  used,  as  well  as  the  approximate  quantities  that 
are  to  be  manufactured  or  stored.  The  employer  must  in  addi- 
tion state  the  measures  which  he  has  in  mind  for  diminishing  the 
inconveniences  connected  with  the  establishment,  as  well  for  the 
workers  employed  as  for  the  neighbors  and  the  public.  Every 
demand  for  authorization  must  be  accompanied  by  two  plans,  one 


FACTOEY  LEGISLATION  497 

showing  the  interior  arrangement  of  the  factory,  such  as  the  loca- 
tion of  the  workrooms,  storerooms  and  machinery;  the  other  the 
situation  of  the  factory  in  relation  to  other  buildings,  roads,  rail- 
roads, water-courses,  etc.,  within  a  radius  of  200  meters.  Establish- 
ments of  the  first  class  must  also  state  the  approximate  number 
of  workers  to  be  employed,  age,  sex,  length  of  work-day,  and  length 
of  daily  and  weekly  rest  periods.  In  addition,  the  application 
must  state  the  methods  of  heating,  lighting  and  ventilation  to  be 
employed;  the  arrangements  for  cleanliness  in  the  factory  and  on 
the  part  of  the  workers;  the  cubic  air  space  allowed  for  each  worker; 
the  provisions  made  for  medical  and  surgical  care  in  case  of  accident; 
provisions  for  securing  workers  against  dangers  of  explosions  or 
fire,  escape  of  vapors,  gas  or  dust,  breaking  of  machinery  and  pul- 
leys. Lastly,  the  application  must  state  the  various  measures  to 
be  taken  to  assure  sanitary  conditions  in  the  workshop,  such  as 
alternation  of  work,  provisions  for  meals,  bathing  facilities,  toilet 
facilities,  use  of  disinfectants,  etc. 

In  Switzerland  the  law  requires  anyone  proposing  to  construct  a 
new  factory  or  any  industrial  establishment,  or  to  reconstruct  or  to 
add  to  already  existing  industrial  establishments,  to  obtain  an 
authorization  from  the  cantonal  government. 


,      III 

CONSTRUCTION,   FIRE-PROTECTION  AND  ACCIDENT- 
PREVENTION 

The  construction- of  factories,  as  far  as  the  materials  of  build- 
ings, plans,  forms  of  construction,  thickness  of  walls,  etc.,  are  con- 
cerned, is  usually  under  the  jurisdiction  of  municipal  authorities, 
subject  to  local  building  laws,  rules  and  regulations.  These  build- 
ing laws  are  not  uniform  throughout  the  state,  with  the  result  that 
there  is  a  difference  in  the  standards  of  factory  construction  in 
different  cities  and  localities.  i 

In  a  few  European  countries  there  is  some  special  legislation 
on  the  subject.  Thus,  in  Switzerland,  the  construction  of  all  new 
factories  is  regulated  in  detail.  No  cellar  is  permitted  to  be  used 
as  a  workplace  except  by  special  permission  and  on  condition  that 
it  is  well  lighted  and  protected  against  dampness.  The  height 
and  cubic  air  space  of  workrooms,  the  size  of  the  windows,  the 
methods  of  lighting,  ventilation  and  heating,  are  all  prescribed. 


498  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  law  gives  details  as  to  construction  of  stairways,  number  and 
size  of  exits,  doors  and  elevators,  and  contains  provisions  for  insur- 
ing the  safety  of  the  persons  using  them. 

In  England  the  construction  of  factories  is  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  local  and  municipal  authorities. 

In  countries  where  certain  trades  are  required  to  obtain  an 
authorization  or  license,  there  is  usually  a  very  strict  supervision  of 
the  plans  of  new  buildings,  and  the  form  of  construction  as  well  as 
the  arrangements  in  the  factories  in  trades  for  which  authorization 
or  license  is  required. 

It  would  be  a  great  advance  in  factory  legislation  if  states  and 
countries  would  require  all  new  industrial  establishments  to  file 
their  plans  before  construction  and  to  have  the  state  authorities 
supervise  and  control  the  methods  of  construction  and  proper 
hygienic  arrangement  of  the  future  factories.  It  would  obviate 
a  great  deal  of  the  later  need  for  correction  of  evils  due  to  faulty 
construction. 

Fire  Protection.  All  states  set  some  standard  for  fire-protection 
and  prevention  in  factories.  These  standards  usually  cover  the 
character  and  construction  and  materials  of  windows,  doors,  walls 
and  floors,  methods  and  form  of  construction  of  stairways,  elevators, 
exits  and  fire-escapes.  In  general,  Europe  is  far  ahead  of  the 
United  States  in  fire -protection  and  fire -prevention. 

German  regulations  are  probably  the  most  thoroughgoing  and 
drastic.  In  all  buildings  of  more  than  one  story  in  height  the 
following  specifications  are  ordered  as  a  means  of  minimizing  the 
dangers  of  fire. 

(1)  The  outside  walls  and  partitions  must  be  made  of  fire-resist- 
ing materials. 

(2)  The  ceilings  and  floors  must  be  fire-resisting. 

If  openings  cannot  be  avoided,  precautions  must  be  taken  to  pre- 
vent the  spread  of  fire. 

(3)  Large,  many-storied  buildings  should   be  divided   by   fire- 
walls. 

(4)  The  stairways  must  be  in  specially  constructed  stair-towers. 
The  latter,  as  well  as  the  stairways,  should  be  constructed  of  fire- 
proof materials. 

(5)  In  all  buildings  of  three  and  more  stories  there  should  be 
at  least  two  stairways  remote  from  each  other  when  the  number  of 
persons  on  upper  floors  shall  be  more  than  forty,  or  the  length  of  the 
building  more  than  fifty  meters. 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  499 

(6)  The  windows  of  the  upper  stories  must  be  arranged  so 
that  a  full-grown  person  can  get  through  the  window  into  the 
air. 

The  following  regulations  must  be  complied  with  in  every  work- 
room : 

Factories  and  workshops  in  which  more  than  twenty  workers 
are  employed,  or  in  which  light  inflammable  materials  are  manu- 
factured, must  be  provided  with  two  fire-proof  stairways.  At 
least  two  such  stairways  must  lead  to  every  workroom  in  the  upper 
stories,  except  in  such  factories  where  stairways  are  on  opposite  sides 
of  the  building  and  enclosed  in  fire-proof  walls  on  all  sides. 

In  buildings  already  existing  iron  steps  are  permitted  which 
are  fire-proof  above  and  below  and  are  easily  reached. 

Direct  communication  of  the  workrooms  with  the  stair-towers 
is  to  be  avoided.  An  indirect  connection  between  the  workrooms 
and  the  fire-towers  by  means  of  iron  galleries  is  preferable.  These 
iron  galleries  must  be  closed  on  all  sides  in  order  that  the  smoke 
from  the  workrooms  may  not  enter  the  stair-towers. 

In  the  same  way  the  doors  leading  to  the  stairways  must  be 
fire-proof,  must  open  into  the  stair-tower  and  be  self-closing.  The 
doors  of  the  workrooms,  especially  those  in  boiler-houses,  must  be 
so  arranged  that  they  open  outwards.  The  same  holds  good  for 
windows  which  in  case  of  fire  must  be  used  as  a  means  of  exit. 

Shed  workshops  must  have  a  sufficient  number  of  exits  on  all 
sides. 

Storerooms  for  light  inflammable  materials  must  be  only  placed 
at  the  side  of  workrooms,  and  not  in  any  case  beneath  them,  and 
must  be  shut  off  from  them  by  fire -proof  walls. 

In  France  the  Labor  Code  requires  the  doors  of  all  workshops 
where  more  than  ten  workers  are  employed,  and  all  places,  regard- 
less of  the  number  of  workers,  where  inflammable  materials  are 
manipulated,  to  open  from  within  out.  The  stairways,  in  addi- 
tion to  being  constructed  of  incombustible  material,  where  they 
must  serve  for  the  simultaneous  exit  of  twenty  or  more  persons, 
must  have  a  minimum  width  of  1  meter,  which  must  be  increased 
by  15  centimeters  for  each  new  group  of  employees  from  1  to  50. 
Municipal  regulations  in  France  forbid  the  construction  of  build- 
ings more  than  seven  stories  in  height,  Other  provisions  of  the  Code 
insure  the  safety  of  establishments  in  which  combustible  materials 
are  used  or  inflammable  liquids  or  gases  are  employed  for  lighting 
or  heating.  The  French  Law  requires  periodical  fire- drills. 


500  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  English  Factory  Law  makes  a  distinction  between  old  and 
new  buildings: 

Every  factory  erected  since  Jan.  1,  1892,  and  every  workshop 
erected  since  Jan.  1,  1896,  in  which  more  than  forty  persons  are 
employed,  must  be  furnished  with  a  certificate  from  the  District 
Council  (in  London  from  the  County  Council)  that  reasonable  pro- 
vision has  been  made  for  the  escape,  in  case  of  fire,  of  all  persons 
employed.  The  certificate  must  specify  in  detail  the  means  of  escape 
provided.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  district  council  (or  county  council) 
to  examine  every  such  factory  and  workshop,  and  to  supply  the 
certificate  if  they  are  satisfied  that  reasonable  provision  has  been 
made. 

In  every  factory  or  workshop  erected  after  Jan.  1,  1896,  the  doors 
of  each -room  in  which  more  than  ten  persons  are  employed  must, 
except  in  the  case  of  sliding  doors,  be  constructed  so  as  to  open 
outwards. 

With  regard  to  every  factory  erected  before  1892,  in  which  more 
than  forty  persons  are  employed,  and  every  workshop  erected  before 
1896,  in  which  more  than  forty  persons  are  employed,  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  District  Council  (in  London  of  the  County  Council)  to 
ascertain  whether  the  factory  or  workshop  is  provided  with  reason- 
able means  of  escape,  in  case  of  fire,  for  all  persons  employed. 

While  any  person  is  within  a  factory  or  workshop  for  the  pur- 
pose of  employment  or  meals,  neither  the  external  doors,  nor  the 
door  of  any  room  in  which  any  such  person  is,  may  be  locked, 
bolted,  or  fastened  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  be  easily  opened  from 
the  inside. 

The  means  of  escape  must  be  maintained  in  good  condition  and 
free  from  obstruction. 

In  the  case  of  a  tenement  factory  or  workshop  the  owner  is 
responsible  instead  of  the  occupier,  and  the  whole  tenement  factory 
or  workshop  is  to  be  taken  as  one  factory  or  workshop. 

District  councils  are  given  powers,  in  addition  to  those  they 
possess,  to  make  bye-laws  providing  for  means  of  escape  from  fire. 
And  the  existing  powers  of  the  London  County  Council  to  make 
bye-laws  on  this  subject  with  respect  to  buildings  over  60  feet  in 
height  are  extended  to  all  factories  and  workshops  of  whatever 
height. 

In  London,  under  the  London  Building  Acts  (Amendment) 
Act,  1905,  the  following  additional  requirements  apply : 

(1)  Means  of  escape  in  case  of  fire  must  be  provided  in  "  high 


FACTOEY  LEGISLATION  501 

buildings"  and  in  factories  and  workshops  in  which  more  than 
twenty  persons  are  employed,  with  two  exceptions: 

(a)  If  the  whole  of  the  building  is  a  factory  or  workshop 
within  the  meaning  of  Section  14,  of  the  Factory  Act 
of  1901. 

(6)  If  the  building  while  used  in  part  as  a  factory  or  work- 
shop has  been  so  provided  in  compliance  with  the 
Factory  Act  of  1901  between  the  llth  August,  1902, 
and  the  llth  August,  1905. 

(2)  In  the  case  of  "  new  buildings  "  to  which  the  above  require- 
ments apply  plans  must  be  submitted  to  the  London  County  Council 
showing  the  means  of  escape  it  is  proposed  to  provide. 

(3)  Precautions  are  also  required  in  the  case  of  workshops  or 
workrooms  connected  with  premises  used  for  the  storage  of  inflam- 
mable liquid. 

In  America,  New  York  State  has  the  most  rigid  and  detailed 
fire  standards.  The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  New  York  State 
Law,  which  will  probably  serve  as  a  model  for  similar  fire  laws  in 
other  states,  although  many  of  the  New  York  requirements  are 
necessitated  by  special  conditions  prevailing  in  New  York  City, 
which  would  not  exist  in  many  of  the  other  states. 

The  New  York  Law  makes  a  distinction  between  buildings  to 
be  erected  in  the  future  and  already  existing  buildings. 

All  buildings  to  be  erected  in  the  future,  which  are  over  four 
stories  high,  must  be  of  fire-proof  construction  and  have  roofs 
covered  with  incombustible  material.  All  exterior  walls  within 
25  feet  of  any  non-fire-proof  building  must  be  not  less  than  8  inches 
thick  and  extend  3  feet  above  the  roof. 

Two  means  of  exit  remote  from  each  other  are  required  from 
every  space  between  fire-walls.  One  of  these  exits  must  be  an 
interior  enclosed  fire-proof  stairway;  the  other  may  be  a  similar  or 
horizontal  exit.  No  point  in  any  floor  area  is  to  be  more  than  100 
feet  distant  from  one  of  these  exits.  An  additional  means  of  exit 
is  required  for  every  5000  square  feet  in  addition  to  the  first  5000 
square  feet  of  floor  area. 

Stairways  must  be  of  incombustible  material,  44  inches  wide, 
and  they  must  not  be  more  than  12  feet,  6  inches,  in  height  between 
landings.  Winder  stairways  are  not  permitted.  The  width  of 
the  treads  and  the  height  of  their  rise  is  prescribed. 

All  doors  and  doorways  must  open  out,  and  their  width  must 
not  be  less  than  the  aggregate  width  of  all  the  stairways  leading  to 


502  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

them.  The  width  of  the  doors  leading  to  stairways  must  not  be 
less  than  44  inches. 

All  partitions  must  be  of  incombustible  material. 

All  elevators,  shafts,  hoistways,  etc.,  must  be  enclosed  with 
fire-proof  material  and  must  extend  3  feet  above  the  roof. 

REQUIREMENTS  FOR  EXISTING_BUILDINGS 

(1)  Required  Exits.     Every  building  over  two  stories  must  have 
on  every  floor  at  least  two  exits  remote  from  each  other;   one  exit 
to  open  on  interior  stairway.     Such   stairways  must  be  enclosed 
with  fire-proof  partitions   extending  from   basement   to   three  feet 
above  the  roof;   all  openings  in  these  partitions  to  be  provided  with 
self-closing  fire-proof  doors. 

The  other  means  of  exit  may  lead  to  a  similar  stairway  to  a  hor- 
izontal exit  or  to  an  exterior  screened  stairway  or  to  fire-escapes 
on  the  outside  of  the  building  (at  the  discretion  of  the  Industrial 
Board).  No  point  in  any  floor  is  to  be  more  than  100  feet  distant 
from  an  exit.  Stairways  must  lead  to  the  street  or  to  unobstructed 
passageway,  affording  safe  passage  to  street  (Industrial  Board  has 
discretion  over  character  of  stairway  enclosures). 

(2)  Doors.     All  doors  to  open  outwardly  or  be  double-swinging 
doors  in  all  factories  where  five  or  more  persons  are  employed. 

(3)  Fire-escapes.     Fire-escapes  must  be  constructed  of  wrought- 
iron  or  steel  and  safely  sustain  a  live  load  of  not  less  than  90  pounds 
per  square  foot,  with  a  factor  of  safety  of  four;   continuous  stairway 
to  be  used  wherever  practicable. 

Exits  leading  to  fire-escapes  to  be  2  feet  wide  and  at  least  6 
feet  high  and  must  extend  to  floor  level  and  within  6  inches  of  floor 
level.  Exits  leading  to  fire-escapes  must  be  fire-proof;  windows 
opening  on  fire-escapes  must  be  fire-proof. 

Fire-escape  balconies  must  be  4  feet  wide.  They  must  have 
a  landing  24  inches  square  at  the  head  of  each  stairway;  passage- 
way, between  stairway  opening  and  side  of  building  must  be  at  least 
18  inches  wide;  stairway  opening  to  be  guarded  by  iron  railing 
3  feet  high;  balconies  to  be  surrounded  by  iron  railings  3  feet  high. 

Stairways  must  be  22  inches  wide  and  have  an  incline  of  not 
more  than  45  degrees,  with  8-inch  treads,  and  not  over  an  8-inch 
rise,  and  must  be  provided  with  hand-rail  3  feet  high.  Stairway 
from  lowest  balcony  to  landing  must  remain  down  permanently  or 
be  arranged  to  swing  up  and  down  automatically  by  counterbalancing 
weights.  Exceptions  to  operation  of  this  provision  are  made  for 
certain  factories. 

ADDITIONAL  REQUIREMENTS 

(4)  Stairways.     Stairways  must  be  provided  with   substantial 
hand-rails  and  must  all  extend  to  roof. 

(5)  Doors  and  Windows.     Doors  and  windows  must  be  unob- 
structed by  metal  bars,  grating  or  wire  mesh,  unless  readily  remov- 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  503 

able.     Doorways  opening  on  stairways  must  not  obstruct  passage- 
way.    Exits  must  be  plainly  marked. 

(6)  Access  to  Exits.     There  must  be  passageways  on  each  floor 
at  least  3  feet  wide  throughout  leading  to  every  exit,  including  out- 
side fire-escapes.     Such  passageways  must  be  unobstructed.      No 
doors  may  be  locked,  bolted  or  fastened  during  working  hours. 
Industrial  Board  has  power  to  adopt  rules,  establish  standards,  etc. 

(7)  Limitation  of  Number  of  Occupants.      In  buildings  hereafter 
erected  14  persons  only  permitted  to  work  on  any  floor  for  every 
22  inches  in  width  of  stairway. 

In  existing  buildings  no  more  than  14  persons  can  work  on  any 
floor  for  every  18  inches  in  width  of  stairway.  Industrial  Board 
has  discretion  in  enforcing  this  regulation. 

For  every  additional  16  inches  over  10  feet  in  height  between 
two  floors,  one  additional  person  may  be  employed.  On  the  upper 
of  such  floors  one  for  every  18  inches  in  width  of  stairway  in  exist- 
ing buildings,  and  one  for  every  22  inches  in  width  of  stairway  in 
future  buildings.  If  winder  stairways  are  used  a  deduction  of  10 
per  cent  is  to  be  made  in  counting  capacity  of  the  stairway. 

In  a  fire-proof  building,  approved  by  the  superintendent  of  build- 
ings, as  many  additional  persons  may  be  employed  on  any  floor  as 
can  occupy  the  enclosed  stairhall  on  that  floor,  allowing  five  square 
feet  of  unobstructed  floor  space  per  person. 

Where  horizontal  exit  is  provided  on  any  floor,  as  many  addi- 
tional persons  may  work  therein  as  .can  occupy  the  smaller  of  the 
two  spaces  on  either  side  of  the  fireproof  partitions;  or  as  can 
occupy  floor  of  a  nearby  building  connected  with  this  floor,  allow- 
ing 5  square  feet  of  unobstructed  floor  space  per  person,  provided 
that  such  horizontal  exits  shall  have  doorways  wide  enough  to  allow 
18  inches  for  each  50  persons  or  fraction  thereof  employed  on  each 
floor  in  the  case  of  horizontal  exits  in  the  existing  buildings  and  22 
inches  in  the  case  of  horizontal  exits  in  future  buildings. 

When  a  floor  is  sub-divided  by  partitions  of  brick,  terra-cotta 
or  concrete,  not  less  than  4  inches  thick,  with  all  openings  protected 
by  fire-proof  doors  not  less  than  44  inches  or  more  than  66  inches 
wide,  as  many  persons  may  be  employed  on  each  floor  as  can  occupy 
the  smaller  of  the  two  spaces  on  either  side  of  the  partition,  allowing 
5  square  feet  of  floor  space  per  person,  provided  there  be  on  each 
side  at  least  one  fire-proof  stairway. 

The  number  of  persons  employed  on  any  one  floor  may  be 
increased  50  per  cent  where  an  automatic  sprinkler  system  is  installed. 
The  number  of  persons  employed  on  any  floor  shall  never  expeed 
the  number  that  can  occupy  the  floor,  allowing  36  square  feet  floor 
space  per  person,  if  the  building  is  not  of  fire-proof  construction, 
and  32  square  feet  per  person  if  the  building  is  fire-proof. 

The  Industrial  Board  has  the  power  to  make  further  rules  and 
regulations  in  respect  to  fire-protection  as  well  as  in  respect  to 
other  parts  of  the  Labor  Law. 


504  THE  MODERN  FACTOEY 

The  legislation  in  relation  to  accident- prevention  and  safeguard- 
ing of  machinery  has  been  partly  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  safety 
and  accident-prevention.  Legislation  for  this  purpose  is  usually 
too  general,  as  it  is  not  feasible  to  encumber  statute  books  with 
detailed  provisions  about  the  methods  of  safeguarding  machinery, 
transmission  apparata,  or  other  devices  and  appliances  which  are 
of  such  great  variety  in  every  industrial  establishment.  Standards 
for  safety  and  accident-prevention  are  made  by  accident  insurance 
companies  and  by  trade  associations.  Factory  laws  usually  set 
down  general  principles  of  safety  which  are  then  applied  according 
to  the  needs  in  each  case. 

IV 
LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION,  AND  VENTILATION  AND  HEATING 

There  are  very  few  definite  standards  in  factory  legislation  as 
to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  light  and  illumination.  This  is 
natural  when  we  consider  that  the  science  of  illumination  has  not 
as  yet  progressed  sufficiently  to  give  definite  solutions  to  the  problems 
which  confront  the  engineer  in  the  illumination  of  different  parts 
of  industrial  establishments.  The  legislation  found  in  different 
countries  and  states  may  be  summarized  in  the  following  excerpts 
from  the  provisions  on  the  various  statute  books. 

The  English  law  contains  no  provision  or  standards  for  light 
and  illumination  of  factories  and  workshops.  Recommendations 
made  on  this  subject  have  been  in  relation  to  special  industries  only. 
France,  Belgium  and  Switzerland  require  only  "sufficient  "  natural 
or  artificial  light  in  workrooms,  on  staircases,  in  wash-rooms,  toilets, 
etc.  Switzerland  requires  in  addition  the  installation  of  a  sufficient 
number  of  safety  lamps. 

The  German  Industrial  Code  gives  no  standards  for  daylight  or 
artificial  light,  but  standards  have  been  set  by  industrial  inspectors 
according  to  the  demands  of  the  Federal  Health  Council,  as  follows: 
Provisions  for  Natural  Light. 

(a)  Minimum  window  area  for  each  work-place  from  0.25  to 

0.05  square  meters. 
(6)  Minimum  window  area  of   1    square  meter  for   each   30 

meters  of  room  space. 

(c)  Minimum  window  area  of  1  square  meter  for  every  5 
square  meters  of  floor- space, 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  505 

Provisions  for  Artificial  Light. 

1  to  2  incandescent  lamps  from  16  to  32  N.K.  power  must  be 
provided. 

In  Holland  the  royal  decree  of  Jan.  31,  1897,  relating  to  the 
conditions  of  working  of  female  and  young  employes  under  unhealthy 
or  dangerous  conditions  does  not  allow  the  persons  protected  to 
be  employed  on  premises  where,  between  nine  in  the  morning  and 
three  in  the  afternoon,  artificial  means  have  to  be  resorted  to  in 
order  to  secure  sufficient  illumination  (save  only  in  exceptional 
cases  when  the  condition  of  the  atmosphere  renders  artificial  light 
essential).  Moreover,  the  intensity  of  illumination  must  conform 
to  certain  definite  requirements.  In  the  case  of  the  following  trades — 
embroidery,  working  in  precious  stones,  gold,  and  silver,  engraving 
metals  or  wood,  the  manufacture  of  instruments,  printing,  mechan- 
ical knitting  and  quilting,  sewing,  draughtsmanship,  the  repairing 
of  clocks  and  watches — an  intensity  of  at  least  fifteen  bougie-meters 
is  prescribed.  In  the  case  of  other  works  requiring  good  lighting 
an  intensity  of  ten  bougie-meters  is  necessary. 

Requirements  for  light  and  illumination  of  the  different  American 
states  are  for  the  most  part  general  in  character,  requiring  only  that 
factories,  workrooms  and  dependencies  shall  be  properly  and  suf- 
ficiently lighted.  The  Connecticut  law  requires  colored  and  cor- 
rugated windows  to  be  removed  if  they  are  injurious  to  the  eyes. 
Illinois  requires  a  light  to  be  kept  burning  in  passageways,  on 
staircases,  in  front  of  elevator  shafts,  etc.,  except  in  cases  where 
natural  light  is  sufficient.  Wisconsin  alone  attempts  to  set  a  standard 
of  illumination,  requiring  every  place  of  employment  in  which  hand 
or  machine  operations  are  performed  to  be  supplied  during  working 
hours,  when  daylight  is  not  available,  with  artificial  light  equivalent 
in  amount,  for  each  4  square  feet  of  floor  space,  to  not  less  than 
the  light  produced  by  a  one-candle-power  lamp  hung  ten  feet  from 
the  floor. 

Ventilation  and  Heating.  The  same  reasons  which  have  com- 
pelled legislators  to  make  vague  and  indefinite  provisions  for  light 
and  illumination  in  factories  have  also  been  potent  in  the  matter  of 
setting  standards  for  ventilation  and  heating.  Ventilation  engineers 
are  not  as  yet  agreed  on  the  proper  methods  of  ventilation  and  the 
qualitative  and  quantitative  needs  of  different  industrial  establish- 
ments. Owing  to  this  indefiniteness,  the  enforcement  of  the  laws 
is  also  very  difficult.  The  present  legal  standards  for  ventilation 
and  heating  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 


506  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  English  Factory  Acts  stipulate  for  250  cubic  feet  of  air- 
space per  person  during  regular  working  hours,  and  500  cubic  feet 
per  person  during  overtime  work.  The  French  Code  requires  7 
cubic  meters  of  air-space  per  person,  which  must  be  increased  to 
10  cubic  meters  in  laboratories  and  kitchens,  and  in  shops,  stores 
and  offices  which  are  open  to  the  public.  The  windows  must  be 
sufficient  to  prevent  excessive  rise  in  temperature.  The  air  of 
workrooms  must  be  renewed  when  necessary  for  the  health  of  the 
workers.  Belgium  requires  10  cubic  meters  of  air-space  per  worker. 
The  height  of  work-place  must  be  at  least  2.51  meters  and  arrange- 
ments must  be  made  to  introduce  new  air  and  let  out  vitiated  air 
at  the  rate  of  30  cubic  meters  per  hour  per  worker.  The  air  must 
be  renewed  during  work-pauses  by  draughts  when  circumstances 
permit.  Work-places  must  be  sufficiently  heated  in  winter,  and 
workers  must  be  protected  from  excessive  radiation  from  heating 
apparatus,  furnaces,  etc.  Germany  requires  the  same  number  of 
cubic  meters  of  air-space  per  worker  as  Belgium,  but  German  work- 
rooms must  be  at  least  3.5  meters  high  and  under  special  circum- 
stances 4  meters  high.  The  temperature  of  workrooms  must  be 
uniform,  between  12  and  18°  C. 

In  America  the  legal  standards  for  ventilation  in  most  states 
are  general  and  indefinite.  "  Factories  must  be  ventilated,"  or 
"  Work- places  must  be  ventilated  so  as  not  to  be  injurious  to  health," 
are  usually  the  only  allusions  to  this  subject  in  the  labor  laws.  Six 
states  only  require  a  definite  amount  of  air-space  per  employe, 
varying  from  250  cubic  feet  in  Pennsylvania  to  500  cubic  feet  in 
Illinois.  Indiana  and  New  Jersey  require  250  cubic  feet  of  air-space 
per  employe  from  6  A.M.  to  6  P.M.,  and  400  cubic  feet  of  air  space 
from  6  P.M.  to  6  A.M. 

Illinois  requires  fresh  air  to  be  supplied  in  such  a  manner  as  not 
to  cause  injurious  drops  of  temperature.  The  air- supply  must  not 
be  taken  from  the  cellar  or  basement.  Where  the  lights  do  not 
consume  oxygen,  250  cubic  feet  are  considered  sufficient.  Rooms 
with  200  cubic  feet  per  employe  and  outside  window  and  door  area 
one-eighth  of  floor  space,  do  not  require  artificial  ventilation,  but 
must  be  properly  aired  before  beginning  work  and  at  noon  hour. 
Rooms  with  500  to  2000  cubic  feet  of  air-space  per  employe  with 
outside  windows  and  doors  one-eighth  of  floor  space,  must  have  arti- 
ficial ventilation  when  weather  requires  windows  closed,  supplying 
1500  cubic  feet  of  fresh  air  to  each  employe.  Rooms  with  less 
than  500  cubic  feet  per  employe  rooms  without  outside  windows 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  507 

or  doors,  rooms  with  less  than  2000  cubic  feet  per  employe  and 
outside  windows  and  door  area  less  than  one-eighth  of  floor  space, 
must  have  artificial  ventilation  supplying  1800  cubic  feet  of  fresh 
air  per  employe  each  working  hour. 

The  general  orders  on  sanitation  of  the  Industrial  Commission 
of  Wisconsin  contain  the  following  general  standards  for  ventilation 
of  workrooms: 

Rooms  with  Less  than  900  Cubic  Feet  of  Air-space  Ventilation. 
All  rooms  in  places  of  employment  where  there  is  less  than  900 
and  more  than  300  cubic  feet  of  air-space  per  person,  and  in  which 
there  is  no  smoke,  gas,  fumes,  dust,  vapors,  or  fires  consuming  oxygen, 
must  be  provided  with  a  ventilating  system  which  will  furnish  1800 
cubic  feet  of  fresh  air  per  hour  to  each  person.  In  all  rooms  specified 
above  where  there  are  lights  or  fires  which  consume  oxygen,  an 
additional  amount  of  air  must  be  supplied  to  make  up  the  loss  of 
oxygen. 

Rooms  with  900  Cubic  Feet  of  Air-space  Ventilation.  All  rooms 
in  places  of  employment  where  there  is  900  cubic  feet  of  air-space 
per  employe,  and  in  which  there  is  no  smoke,  gas,  fumes,  dust,  vapors, 
or  fires  which  consume  oxygen,  must  be  provided  with  a  ventilating 
system  which  will  change  the  air  in  the  room  not  less  than  twice 
each  hour.  Such  system  must  be  so  designed  as  not  to  produce 
injurious  drafts  or  reduce  the  temperature  materially  below  the 
average  temperature  maintained. 

(a)  Standard  Secured  by  Window  Ventilation.  The  above  stand- 
ard of  ventilation  can  be  secured  in  rooms  in  which  there  is  sufficient 
window-space  if  the  windows  are  opened  at  top  and  bottom,  and 
a  board  is  placed  at  the  bottom  to  prevent  drafts.  This  holds 
true  in  winter  as  well  as  in  summer. 

(6)  Temperature  for  Health.  It  has  been  found  that  in  rooms 
where  the  employes  are  engaged  in  active  work,  a  temperature 
of  60  to  65  degrees  is  the  best  standard  to  maintain.  In  this  tem- 
perature the  men  are  invigorated  and  are  less  liable  to  catch  cold 
when  they  go  out  of  doors.  In  rooms  where  the  employes  are 
engaged  in  sedentary  occupations,  it  has  been  found  that  a  maximum 
temperature  of  68  degrees  is  advisable. 

Minimum  Cubic  Feet  of  Air-space.  In  all  places  of  employment 
not  less  than  300  cubic  feet  of  air-space  must  be  provided  for  each 
person. 


508  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


SANITARY  CARE  AND  COMFORTS 

It  is  more  feasible  to  make  definite  provisions  as  to  standards 
for  installations  for  the  sanitary  care  and  comforts  of  the  workers 
in  industrial  establishments.      Hence,  factory  legislation  on  this 
subject  has  been  more  extensive,  although  not  always  satisfactory. 
Factory  laws  make  either  general  or  definite  provisions  as  to  the 
provision  for  drinking-water,  washing-facilities,  cleanliness  in  shops,  ^ 
lunch-rooms,  bathing,  rest-rooms,  etc.     A  resume  of  the  standards  " 
of  the  various  countries  and  states  is  given  below. 

Cleanliness.  The  English  law,  in  addition  to  a  general  provision 
requiring  cleanliness  and  freedom  from  effluvia  from  drains  in 
factories,  calls  for  whitewashing  of  walls  and  ceilings  of  workrooms,, 
halls  and  stairways  once  every  14  months,  or  a  painting  with  oil 
and  varnish  once  every  seven  years.  In  the  latter  case,  they  must 
be  washed  with  hot  water  and  soap  every  fourteen  months. 

France  requires  factory  floors  to  be  cleaned  at  least  once  a  day 
outside  of  working  hours  and  scoured  at  least  once  a  year.  Walls 
and  ceilings  must  be  kept  clean  and  painted  or  plastered  whenever 
necessary.  Organic  matter  must  be  removed  immediately  from 
the  workrooms  unless  kept  in  hermetically  sealed  receptacles. 

Belgium  has  only  general  provisions  for  cleanliness  in  factories, 
but  requires  all  organic  waste  to  be  removed  daily. 

Most  American  states  have  only  the  most  indefinite  legal  pro- 
visions  for  general  cleanliness,  such  as  "must  be  kept  clean,"  "  clean 
as  nature  of  business  permits,"  etc.  Indiana  and  New  York  require 
factories  to  be  lime  washed  when  conducive  to  health  or  cleanliness. 
Illinois  requires  removal  of  rubbish  and  waste  at  least  once  a  day, 
and  all  cleaning,  as  far  as  possible,  to  be  done  outside  of  working 
hours. 

The  general  orders  issued  by  the  Industrial  Commission  of 
Wisconsin  in  regard  to  cleanliness  are  as  follows : 

"  In  all  places  of  employment  the  floors  and  walls  of  the  rooms, 
and  the  machines,  benches,  vessels,  and  other  things  in  the  room, 
must  be  kept  as  clean  and  sanitary  as  the  nature  of  the  industry 
will  permit.  Where  wet  processes  are  used,  the  floors  must  be  so 
drained  that  there  is  no  measurable  depth  of  water  in  which  the 
operators  must  stand  while  working.  Where  practicable,  dry 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  509 

standing-room  must  be  provided  for  employes.  All  waste,  sweep- 
ings and  decomposed  matter  must  be  removed  from  the  workrooms 
each  day,  and  their  removal  must  be  made  in  such  a  way  as  to 
avoid  the  raising  of  unnecessary  dust  or  noxious  odors.  When 
possible,  the  sweeping  and  the  removal  of  waste  should  be  done 
outside  of  working  hours. 

Cuspidors.  The  doctors  who  have  had  the  widest  experience 
in  the  treatment  of  consumption  (tuberculosis)  state  that  spitting 
on  the  floor  spreads  this  dread  disease  more  than  any  other  one  cause. 
The  commission  wishes  strongly  to  urge  every  employer  to  provide 
cuspidors  for  his  employes.  These  cuspidors  should  be  made  of 
paper,  which  can  be  burnt,  or  of  some  impervious  material  which 
can  be  easily  cleaned  and  kept  in  a  sanitary  condition.  The  cus- 
pidors should  be  filled  with  a  solution  of  borax,  boracic  acid  or  some 
other  odorless  disinfectant  solution  which  will  prevent  the  germs  in 
the  sputum  from  becoming  dry  and  floating  in  the  air." 

Washing-facilities  and  Dressing-rooms.  French  and  Belgian 
codes  require  employers  to  provide  dressing-rooms  with  wash-basins 
for  their  employes.  Germany  requires  one  wash-place  with  running 
water  for  every  five  persons,  and  separate  dressing-rooms  for  each 
sex  must  be  provided  in  industries  where  workers  need  to  change 
their  clothing.  Arrangements  must  also  be  made  to  dry  wet  clothes. 

Only  seven  American  states  make  any  provisions  for  washing- 
or  dressing-rooms.  Five  states  require  separate  wash-  and  dressing- 
rooms  for  the  sexes.  Illinois  requires  one  wash-basin  for  every 
thirty  employes  and  separate  wash-rooms  for  workers  in  specially 
dusty  or  dirty  trades,  provided  with  hot  and  cold  water.  New 
York  State  requires  separate  wash-rooms  provided  with  running 
water  in  every  factory,  and  separate  dressing-rooms  in  factories 
where  more  than  ten  women  are  employed.  Wisconsin  prohibits 
the  use  of  the  common  towel. 

;  Drinking-water.  Switzerland  and  France  require  the  employer 
to  provide  good  drinking-water  for  his  employes.  Where  good 
drinking-water  is  lacking,  the  Belgian  law  requires  the  employer  to 
provide  a  hygienic  infusion.  German  factories  must  have  pure  drink- 
ing-water on  every  floor.  No  drinking-water  faucets  are  allowed 
in  toilet-rooms,  and  where  water  is  objectionable  it  must  be  filtered. 

Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  require  fresh  and  pure  drinking- 
water  to  be  provided  during  working  hours.  New  York  requires 
a  sufficient  supply  of  clean  and  pure  drinking-water  to  be  provided 
at  all  times  for  the  use  of  employes.  It  must  be  supplied  through 


510  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

proper  pipe  connections  with  water  mains  used  for  domestic  purposes 
or  from  spring,  well,  or  body  of  pure  water.  If  the  water  is  placed 
in  receptacles  in  the  factory,  these  must  be  properly  covered  to 
prevent  contamination  and  be  thoroughly  cleaned  at  frequent 
intervals. 

The  Wisconsin  Industrial  Commission  requires  each  place  of 
employment  to  be  supplied  with  sufficient  pure  drinking-water, 
and  the  faucets  or  outlets  for  same  to  be  placed  convenient  to  the 
employes.  Common  drinking- cups  are  prohibited.  Individual  cups 
must  be  used  or  sanitary  drinking-fountains  must  be  installed. 

Toilets.  All  European  countries  require  separate  toilet-rooms 
for  the  sexes.  Switzerland,  England  and  Belgium  require  one  toilet 
for  every  twenty-five  persons.  England,  however,  modifies  this 
requirement  for  large  establishments,  requiring  one  toilet  for  every 
twenty-five  males  up  to  one  hundred,  and  one  for  every  forty  over 
that  number.  Where  the  number  of  males  exceeds  500,  one  sanitary 
convenience  for  every  sixty  males  is  deemed  sufficient,  in  addition 
to  proper  urinal  accommodation.  France  requires  one  toilet  for  each 
fifty  persons.  Germany  requires  one  for  every  twenty  males  and 
for  every  fifteen  females. 

The  German  Code  requires  all  toilets  to  be  located  within  a  rea- 
sonable distance  from  the  workers,  but  never  in  direct  connection 
with  the  workrooms.  The  toilet -rooms  must  be  arranged  so  as 
to  be  easily  cleaned.  The  wall  surfaces  must  be  smooth  and  covered 
with  a  washable  material  up  to  1.5  meters  in  height.  Floors  must 
be  of  non-absorbent  material.  Each  toilet  must  be  properly  lighted 
and  ventilated  and  heated  during  winter.  Each  toilet  seat  must  be 
separated  from  the  others  by  sound-proof  partitions  at  least  2  meters 
in  height  and  provided  with  doors.  Each  toilet  compartment 
must  have  not  less  than  75  cubic  meters  capacity. 

Most  states  in  America  require  separate  toilets  and  wash-rooms 
in  factories  where  men  and  women  are  employed.  The  usual 
stipulation  is  for  a  "  sufficient  number."  In  Tennessee,  separate 
water-closets  for  the  sexes  are  not  required  unless  there  are  fifteen 
or  more  employes.  Six  states  require  a  definite  number  of  toilets 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  employes.  Illinois  requires  one  for 
every  thirty  males  and  twenty-five  females;  Michigan,  Indiana  and 
New  York  require  one  for  every  twenty-five  persons;  Wisconsin 
requires  a  separate  toilet  for  each  twenty  persons  or  fraction. 

The  orders  of  the  Industrial  Commission  of  Wisconsin  in  regard 
to  toilet-rooms  are  the  most  detailed  of  any  state,  and  as  they  are 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  511 

being  used  as  a  model  for  similar  orders  in  other  states,  they  are 
given  in  detail  as  follows: 

"  Toilet-rooms  Required.  Every  place  of  employment  must  be 
equipped  with  adequate  toilet-rooms  which  must  be  distinct  and 
separate  from  the  other  parts  of  the  building  and  must  be  so  con- 
structed as  to  insure  privacy. 

" Where  the  two  sexes  are  employed,  separate  toilet-rooms  must 
be  maintained.  Toilet-rooms  for  the  two  sexes,  when  adjoining, 
must  be  separated  by  a  partition  made  of  material  which  is  sound- 
proof and  which  cannot  be  easily  cut  or  defaced. 

"Sex  Designated.  Each  toilet-room  must  be  distinctly  marked 
with  regard  to  the  sex  which  uses  it,  and  no  person  shall  be  allowed 
to  use  the  toilet-room  assigned  to  the  opposite  sex. 

"Indecent  Pictures.  Indecent  or  suggestive  marks,  pictures,  or 
words  are  forbidden  in  toilet-rooms,  and  such  defacement  when  found 
by  the  employer  must  be  at  once  removed. 

"Cleanliness.  Every  toilet-room,  and  every  part  thereof,  includ- 
ing walls,  floors,  and  ceiling,  and  all  fixtures  therein,  must  be  kept 
in  a  clean  condition.  In  each  toilet-room  sufficient  toilet-paper 
must  be  provided,  and  it  must  be  made  of  material  which  will  not 
obstruct  the  fixtures  in  each  toilet-room. 

"Construction  of  Toilet-rooms.  In  each  toilet-room  hereafter 
installed  the  floor  must  be  constructed  of  material  other  than  wood 
which  does  not  readily  absorb  moisture  and  which  can  be  easily 
cleaned. 

"In  toilet-rooms  at  present  installed  the  walls  must  not  be  covered 
with  paper.  If  the  walls  and  ceilings  are  constructed  of  wood, 
they  must  be  covered  with  a  non-absorbent  paint. 

"In  each  toilet-room  hereafter  installed  the  walls  and  ceiling  must 
be  made  of  smooth  cement,  plaster,  porcelain,  glazed  brick,  metal 
tiling,  or  other  smooth,  non-absorbent  material. 

"Location,  Light,  Ventilation.  Each  toilet-room  hereafter  installed 
in  a  place  of  employment  must  be  so  located  as  to  open  to  outside 
light  and  air.  The  minimum  amount  of  window-space  for  a  toilet 
containing  one  fixture  must  be  4  square  feet,  and  for  each  additional 
fixture  an  addition  of  2  square  feet  of  window-space  must  be  made. 
These  windows  must  be  so  constructed  that  they  can  be  opened  to 
give  adequate  ventilation  to  the  room. 

"Each  toilet-room  hereafter  installed  must  have  not  less  than 
10  square  feet  of  floor  space,  and  not  less  than  100  cubic  feet  of  air- 
space for  each  fixture  installed. 

"In  each  toilet-room  heretofore  installed,  and  which  is  so  located 
that  it  is  impossible  to  secure  light  and  air  directly  from  the  outside, 
a  flue  or  mechanical  ventilating  system  must  be  installed  which 
will  provide  adequate  ventilation. 

"Each  toilet-room  which  is  not  open  to  adequate  outside  light 
must  be  artificially  lighted  during  the  hours  of  employment,  so  that 
all  parts  of  the  room  are  easily  visible. 


512  THE  MODEEN  FACTORY 

"Each  toilet-room  must  be  furnished  with  adequate  artificial 
light  during  the  working  hours  when  natural  light  is  not  available. 

" Within  five  years  after  the  date  upon  which  these  orders  become 
effective,  all  toilet-rooms  at  present  installed  which  are  not  open  to 
outside  light  and  air  must  be  moved  and  so  located  that  they  are 
open  to  outside  light  and  air. 

"Water-closets  Hereafter  Installed.  In  each  toilet-room  hereafter 
constructed,  individual  water-closets  made  of  porcelain  or  vitreous 
chinaware  must  be  installed.  These  closets  must  be  equipped  with 
properly  vented  traps  located  above  the  floor,  and  with  an  adequate 
flushing  device  which  uses  not  less  than  three  gallons  of  water  for 
each  flush. 

"Each  water-closet  must  be  set  upon  a  solid  base,  and  its  con- 
nection to  the  soil-pipe  or  fitting  must  be  constructed  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  be  gas-  and  water-tight. 

"Water-closets  at  Present  Installed.  Each  water-closet  at  present 
installed  must  be  provided  with  a  flushing  appliance,  which  will 
be  as  effective  in  its  operation  as  the  type  of  closet  requires. 

"Each  water-closet  must  be  kept  in  good  repair,  and  obstructions 
must  be  removed  at  once. 

"Sewer  Systems.  Each  water-closet,  urinal,  lavatory,  or  slop-sink 
located  in  a  toilet-room  must  be  connected  with  a  sewer  system^ 
where  a  sewer  system  is  available. 

'  'There  must  be  a  proper  connection  between  the  pumping  ~ystem 
and  the  sewer,  and  such  connection  must  be  kept  in  good  repair. 

"Seats  for  Water-closets.  The  seat  of  each  water-closet  hereafter 
installed  must  be  made  of  wood  or  other  non-heat-absorbing  material, 
and  finished  with  varnish  or  other  substance  which  will  make  it 
impervious  to  water.  Under  no  circumstances  will  seats  made  of 
enameled  ironware,  porcelain,  or  similar  heat-absorbing  substance 
be  allowed. 

"Number  of  Water-closets  and  Urinals  Required.  Water-closets 
must  be  provided  in  places  of  employment  in  the  following  propor- 
tion: When  the  number  employed  is  more  than  20  of  either  sex, 
there  shall  be  provided  an  additional  closet  for  each  sex,  up  to  the 
number  of  40,  and  above  that  number  in  the  same  ratio. 

"Where  males  are  employed,  urinals  must  be  provided  in  the 
proportion  of  1  to  every  40  employed.  Where  trough  urinals  are 
used,  each  2  feet  of  trough  shall  constitute  one  urinal. 

"Urinals,  Construction.  Each  urinal  must  be  made  of  impervious 
material  and  must  be  properly  flushed  and  kept  in  clean  condition. 
If  iron  is  used  in  the  construction  of  urinals,  it  must  be  enameled 
xm  the  inside  of  the  trough  or  bowl. 

"Partitions  for  Water-closets  and  Urinals.  Each  water-closet  or 
seat  of  range  closet  must  be  separated  by  a  partition  not  less  than 
5  feet  in  height.  Each  individual  urinal  or  urinal  trough  must  be 
provided  with  a  partition  at  each  end  and  at  the  back,  to  give  privacy. 
Where  individual  urinals  are  arranged  in  batteries,  a  partition  must 
be  placed  at  each  end  and  at  the  back  of  the  battery. 


FACTORY  LEGISLATION  513 

"In  new  installations  the  partitions  between  water-closets  and 
urinals  must  be  made  of  material  other  than  wood,  which  does  not 
readily  absorb  moisture. 

"Traps  for  Toilet-room  Fixtures.  Each  water-closet,  urinal, 
lavatory,  or  slop-sink  hereafter  installed  in  a  place  of  employment 
must  have  a  trap.  This  trap  must  be  equipped  with  a  vent  so 
constructed  that  adequate  circulation  of  air  will  be  secured  in  the 
waste-pipe;  and  so  constructed  that  no  siphonage  will  be.  possible, 
and  the  vent  will  not  serve  as  a  waste-pipe  in  case  of  obstruction. 

"In  installations  where  individual  lavatory  bowls  are  arranged 
in  a  battery,  one  trap  may  be  used  for  six  bowls. 

"Each  lavatory  and  slop-sink  at  present  installed  must  be  equipped 
with  a  trap  properly  vented.  A  mechanical  trap  may  be  installed 
where  it  is  impractical  to  install  a  vented  trap. 

"On  old  installations  each  water-closet  and  urinal  must  be  equipped 
with  a  trap,  and  where  there  are  two  or  more  water-closets  or  urinals 
on  one  sewrer  connection,  the  trap  must  be  properly  vented." 

Lunch-rooms.  Workers  in  French  factories  are  forbidden  to 
•eat  lunch  in  the  workrooms,  although  permission  to  do  so  may  be 
granted  in  case  of  need  by  the  division  inspector,  under  the  condi- 
tion that  no  toxic  materials  are  employed,  that  no  disagreeable  or 
poisonous  gas  or  dust  is  given  off,  and  that  other  hygienic  condi- 
tions are  satisfactory.  The  Belgian  Code  forbids  workers  to  eat 
lunch  in  work-places  where  poisonous  substances  are  used.  In 
.all  factories  in  Germany  well-lighted  lunch-rooms,  separate  for  each 
sex,  and  heated  during  winter,  and  containing  the  necessary  number 
of  tables  and  chairs  must  be  provided  for  workers  who  do  not  leave 
the  factory  during  the  midday  pause. 

In  America,  three  states — Illinois,  New  York  and  Missouri- 
forbid  employes  to  eat  food  in  any  room  where  white-lead,  arsenic, 
poisonous  substances,  injurious  fumes,  dust  or  gases  are  present. 
A  notice  to  this  effect  must  be  posted  in  such  rooms,  and  the  employes 
are  not  allowed  to  remain  in  these  rooms  during  meal  hours.  The 
employer  must  make  suitable  provision  whenever  practicable  for 
meals  elsewhere  in  the  establishment. 

Medical  Appliances.  Two  states  in  the  Union,  namely  Massa- 
chusetts and  California,  require  every  factory  where  machinery 
is  used  to  install  a  medical  or  surgical  chest,  maintained  free  of  cost, 
for  the  use  of  employes.  In  Massachusetts  the  requirements  for 
.articles  in  the  chest  are  made  by  the  local  boards  of  health.  Cali- 
fornia requires  a  specified  list  of  medicines  and  appliances  costing 
not  less  than  six  dollars. 


CHAPTER  XII 
FACTORY   INSPECTION 

The  Beginning  of  Factory  Inspection  in  Europe  and  in  the 
United  States.  The  extent  of  legal  protection  given  to  workers 
is  determined  not  by  the  number  of  factory  laws  upon  the  statute 
books,  but  by  the  number  of  such  laws  as  are  properly  administered 
and  by  the  extent  to  which  their  provisions  are  actually  enforced. 

The  promulgation  of  laws  protecting  workers  against  risks 
and  dangers  within  the  factory  has  always  preceded  by  considerable 
periods  the  creation  of  administrative  institutions  for  their  enforce- 
ment. In  Europe,  as  well  as  in  the  United  States,  factory  inspec- 
tion was  practically  thrust  upon  the  governments  and  states 
because  of  the  accumulated  evidence  that  legislative  enactments 
were  futile  without  provisions  for  their  administration  and  enforce- 
ment. 

The  first  factory  inspection  department  was  organized  in  England 
in  1833.  In  the  parliamentary  debates  preceding  the  enactment 
of  the  Law  of  1833,  it  was  conceded  by  all  that  the  provisions  of 
the  Acts  of  1802,  1819,  1825,  and  1831  were  never  properly  enforced 
and  that  those  acts  failed  to  give  needed  protection  to  factory 
workers.  From  the  time  of  the  enactment  of  the  first  factory 
law  in  1802,  the  manufacturing  interests  bitterly  opposed  all 
endeavors  to  create  special  machinery  for  the  enforcement  of  labor 
laws  which  they  knew  would  remain  ineffectual,  so  long  as  there 
was  no  special  department  for  their  enforcement. 

The  importance  of  the  Act  of  1833,  which  created  the  first  fac- 
tory inspection  department,  lay  therefore  in  the  recognition  of  the 
necessity  of  a  special  administrative  body  for  the  enforcement  of 
labor  laws.  The  history  of  factory  inspection  in  England  since 
that  date  shows  the  steady  progress  of  this  great  social  institution 
which  was  later  adopted,  copied  and  followed  by  other  countries 
and  states. 

In  1834,  the  Factory  Inspection  Department  of  England  began 
with  four  inspectors  having  jurisdiction  over  2094  factories.  From 
this  small  beginning  it  has  grown  and  developed  until  it  has  a  per- 

514 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  515 

sonnel  of  224  inspectors  having  jurisdiction  over  no  less  than  117,275 
factories  and  155,697  workshops  (1913),  a  total  of  272,972  indus- 
trial establishments. 

In  France,  the  Labor  Inspection  Department  was  not  established 
until  1874,  although  there  had  been  considerable  factory  legislation, 
beginning  with  the  ordinance  of  1806  and  followed  by  numerous 
acts  since  that  date.  Between  1874  and  1892,  the  inspectorial 
service  of  France  was  not  compulsory  for  all  the  departments.  Only 
in  1892  was  it  established  on  a  firm  basis  and  reorganized  in  its 
present  form. 

In  Prussia  and  in  the  German  states,  administrative  depart- 
ments for  the  enforcement  of  labor  laws  were  not  established  until 
1878,  although  factory  legislation  began  with  the  Regulativ  of 
1839  and  was  followed  by  the  Laws  of  1845  and  1853  and  by  the 
promulgation  of  the  "  Industrial  Code  "  of  the  North  German  Union 
in  1869.  As  in  France,  the  first  inspection  department  created 
in  1878  was  experimental  and  not  compulsory  for  all  states;  and 
only  in  1891  was  the  whole  service  reorganized.  Since  that  time 
the  progress  of  the  department  has  been  steady. 

In  Austria,  as  in  the  other  countries,  there  were  attempts  at 
factory  legislation  from  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  in  1859  a  complete  industrial  code  was  promulgated;  but  not 
until  1883  was  industrial  inspection  organized  and  established. 

The  same  conditions  prevailed  in  other  countries.  Laws  were 
enacted  and  put  on  the  statute  books,  but  were  not  enforced  because 
administrative  provisions  were  lacking.  Only  when  their  failure 
to  protect  the  workers  had  been  demonstrated  was  an  endeavor 
made  to  establish  a  system  of  factory  inspection.  The  following 
is  a  chronological  table  of  the  beginning  of  factory  inspection  in 
the  various  European  countries:  Great  Britain,  1833;  Denmark, 
1873;  France,  1874;  Switzerland  (Federal),  1877;  Germany, 
1878;  Russia,  1882;  Austria,  1883;  Belgium,  1889;  Netherlands, 
1889;  Sweden,  1889;  Portugal,  1893;  Hungary,  1893;  Italy,  1906; 
Spain,  1907.* 

Factory  Inspection  in  the  United  States.  As  was  the  case  in 
European  countries,  factory  inspection  in  the  United  States  lagged 
behind  factory  legislation  and  years  elapsed  before  it  dawned  upon 
legislators  that  not  only  factory  laws  but  provisions  for  their 
administration  and  enforcement  were  needed. 

*  The  data  on  European  factory  inspection  is  taken  from  the  report  which  I  made  to  the 
IT.  S.  Dept.  of  Labor,  and  which  has  been  published  by  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  in  1914 
as  Bulletin  No.  142. 


516  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  first  attempt  at  factory  inspection  was  made  in  Massa- 
chusetts in  1886.  Prior  to  that  year,  since  1842,  the  local  school 
authorities  and  truant  officers  were  the  enforcing  agents  of  the 
several  laws  which  were  passed,  beginning  with  the  Child  Labor 
Law  of  1836.  In  1866  a  single  deputy  was  detailed  by  the  police 
department  to  enforce  the  Child  Labor  and  Compulsory  Education 
Laws,  and  only  in  1877  was  the  right  of  entry  into  factories  granted 
to  this  inspector.  By  the  Act  of  1879,  the  governor  was  empowered 
to  appoint  two  or  more  members  of  the  district  police  to  act  as 
inspectors  of  factories  and  public  buildings.  Immediately  upon 
the  passage  of  this  act  the  governor  appointed  Rufus  R.  Wade, 
John  T.  White  and  Joseph  M.  Dyson.  The  duties  of  these  inspec- 
tors were  (1)  the  enforcement  of  laws  regulating  the  hours  of  labor 
in  manufacturing  establishments,  (2)  laws  relating  to  employment 
of  children,  and  (3)  inspection  of  factories  and  public  buildings. 

In  the  first  report  of  the  chief  of  the  district  police,  who  was 
also  one  of  the  inspectors  appointed  by  the  governor,  the  question 
of  fire  hazards  in  factories  was  considered  at  some  length.  This 
section  of  the  report  might  have  been  taken  from  a  report  of  any 
one  of  the  recent  legislative  commissions  investigating  industrial 
conditions,  risks  and  hazards. 

"  In  the  matter  of  providing  for  speedy  and  safe  egress  in  case 
of  fire  or  panic,  a  large  number  of  manufacturing  establishments 
were  found  deficient.  The  horrors  of  Holyoke  and  Granite  Mill 
at  Fall  River  and  other  disasters  that  have  occurred  by  reason  of 
neglect  to  provide  safe  means  of  egress  in  case  of  fire  or  panic  should 
not,  through  negligence  or  thoughtlessness  of  manufacturers  or 
owners  of  public  buildings,  be  repeated."  * 

This  first  report  also  states  that  the  laws  providing  for  educa- 
tion of  working  children  were  not  enforced  and  that  many  chil- 
dren were  employed  below  the  legal  age.  In  one  mill  the  inspectors 
found  thirty  boys  and  girls  working,  the  youngest  being  only  nine 
years  old.  The  two  inspectors  found  their  task  a  heavy  one,  as  can 
readily  be  imagined,  since  they  were  supposed  to  inspect  not  only 
all  the  manufacturing  establishments,  but  also  all  public  buildings, 
such  as  schools,  churches,  hotels,  boarding  and  lodging  houses, 
etc. 

The  quote  from  the  report  again:  "  The  task  of  inspection  of 
factories  is  of  sufficient  magnitude  and  importance  to  justify  making 
it  a  distinct  branch  of  the  service." 

*  Report  of  Rufus  R.  Wade,  Chief  of  District  Police  for  1879,  p.  8. 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  517 

The  report  also  asked  that  two  assistants  be  appointed.  The 
following  year,  1880,  the  governor's  message  recommended  that 
factory  inspection  be  made  a  separate  department;  but  not  until  1888 
was  this  established. 

In  discussing  the  work  of  these  early  inspectors,  Miss  Whittlesey, 
in  her  book  on  Massachusetts  Labor  Legislation,  says:  "It  is 
curious  to  note  the  attitude  of  employers  towards  these  labor  laws. 
Invariably  offering  persistent  opposition  to  the  enactment  of  each 
new  measure,  they  nevertheless  fall  one  after  another  into  line 
and  obedience.  The  inspectors  constantly  attest  their  cheerful 
spirit  of  compliance  and  their  general  courteous  treatment."  * 

In  1891  two  women  inspectors  were  added.  In  1893  a  separ- 
ate boiler  inspection  division  with  ten  inspectors  was  created. 
In  1907,  a  reorganization  of  factory  inspection  was  made,  by  which 
a  number  of  state  health  inspectors  were  appointed,  who  were  given 
discretion  to  look  after  the  health  conditions  in  their  districts,  and 
who  took  over  a  considerable  part  of  the  functions  of  factory 
inspectors.  The  chief  work  of  the  health  inspectors  consisted  in 
collecting  data  relating  to  industrial  hygiene  or  occupational  dis- 
eases. The  division  of  functions  of  factory  inspection  between 
the  district  police  and  the  State  Board  of  Health  created  much 
dissatisfaction,  and  in  1910  a  commission  was  appointed  to  investi- 
gate the  matter  and  report  upon  conditions.  The  commission  found 
that  "  neither  the  inspection  department  of  the  district  police, 
nor  that  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  had  a  force  of  men  in  the  field 
exclusively  engaged  in  the  inspection  of  factories,  workshops  and 
mercantile  establishments  specially  qualified  and  selected  for  their 
work.  In  short,  the  Commonwealth  had  no  specialized  industrial 
inspectors  at  the  time,  and  the  commission  therefore  recommended 
the  establishment  of  a  separate  department  of  industrial  inspection."  f 

In  1913,  the  inspection  department  of  Massachusetts  was  reor- 
ganized, an  Industrial  Board  established  and  a  larger  force  of  inspec- 
tors engaged. 

In  New  York,  there  existed  a  number  of  legislative  enactments 
for  the  protection  of  women  and  children  in  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments; but  only  in  1886  was  an  act  passed  to  provide  for  the 
appointment  of  inspectors  to  enforce  the  same.  The  act  called  for 
the  appointment  by  the  governor  of  a  factory  inspector  at  a  salary 
of  $2000  per  year  and  an  assistant  at  a  salary  of  $1500  per  year, 

*  S.  S.  Whittlesey:  Massachusetts  Labor  Legislation,  p.  28. 

t  Report    of   the    Commission    of    Massachusetts    to    Investigate    Inspection  of  Factories, 
Workshops  and  Mercantile  Establishments  and  Other  Buildings,  June,  1911,  p.  16. 


518  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

the  inspectors  to  hold  office  for  three  years.  James  Connelly  was 
appointed  as  inspector  and  John  T.  Franey  as  assistant. 

In  their  first  report  issued  in  1887,  the  inspectors  gave  a  record 
of  three  months'  work.  They  complained  of  the  ignorance  of  the 
children  working  in  the  mills  and  factories  and  stated  that  compul- 
sory education  was  a  dead  letter.  The  inspectors  seem  to  have 
worked  hard  and  to  have  been  anxious  to  fulfill  their  duties  as  best 
they  could.  They  visited  857  factories  in  twenty-one  counties 
in  four  months,  and  as  a  result  of  this  first  inspection  they  made  a 
number  of  recommendations  to  the  legislature,  which  read  very  much 
as  though  they  were  written  just  lately.  Among  the  recommen- 
dations were  a  compulsory  education  law,  prohibition  of  children 
under  fourteen  years  from  working  in  manufacturing  establishments, 
screening  of  staircases,  prohibition  of  cleaning  machinery  while 
in  motion  by  women  and  minors  under  eighteen  years,  a  ten-hour 
workday  for  women  and  minors  under  eighteen  years,  a  three- 
quarter  hour  midday  pause,  proper  construction  of  elevators  and 
hoistways,  provision  for  proper  fire-escapes  and  stairways,  physi- 
cian's certificate  for  children  under  sixteen  years,  increase  of  air 
space  for  employes,  screening  and  separation  of  water-closets,  con- 
struction of  all  doors  to  open  outward,  and  other  provisions  which 
even  at  present  have  not  yet  been  all  put  on  the  statute  books. 

The  growth  of  the  factory  inspection  department  in  New  York 
State  was  at  first  very  slow.  In  1887,  eight  male  inspectors  were 
added  to  the  two  previously  appointed.  In  1901,  the  Bureaus  of 
Statistics,  Inspection,  Mediation  and  Arbitration  were  combined 
under  one  head  and  a  labor  department  was  formed.  Since  the 
creation  of  this  Department  its  progress  has  been  rapid  and  very 
great,  until  at  present  it  has  the  largest  number  of  inspectors  of 
any  state  and  has  an  annual  budget  of  nearly  $700,000. 

Between  1870  and  1890  Illinois  reached  the  rank  of  third  state 
in  the  Union  in  the  value  of  its  annual  manufactured  product. 
But  because  this  growth  had  been  sudden,  the  state  up  to  that  time 
had  done  nothing  to  ameliorate  the  conditions  of  the  workers  by 
legislation,  such  as  had  been  passed  in  the  other  manufacturing 
states.  The  Illinois  Child  Labor  Act  of  June  17,  1891  carried  with 
it  no  provisions  for  enforcement.  By  the  Act  of  June  17,  1893, 
the  Department  of  Factories  and  Workshops  was  established  with 
one  chief  and  an  assistant  chief,  five  male  and  five  female  inspectors. 
An  appropriation  of  $20,000  for  two  years  was  made  for  salaries 
and  $8000  for  traveling  and  other  expenses.  The  report  of  the 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  519 

factory  inspectors  at  the  close  of  the  first  year  showed  that  2363 
places  were  inspected  in  which  76,224  persons  were  employed. 
Of  these,  6456  or  8.5  per  cent  were  children  between  the  ages  of 
fourteen  and  sixteen.* 

In  Pennsylvania,  the  enforcement  of  the  labor  laws,  some  of 
which  were  enacted  as  early  as  1827,  was  left  to  tax  assessors;  and 
it  was  not  until  1889  that  any  real  provision  was  made  for  inspection 
of  factories. 

The  first  inspection  department  consisted  of  one  chief  and  six 
district  inspectors.  In  1901,  there  were  already  forty-one  inspec- 
tors. In  1913,  Pennsylvania  factory  inspection  was  considerably 
reformed,  reorganized  and  an  Industrial  Board  appointed. 

In  1883,  a  law  was  passed  in  Wisconsin  requiring  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  commissioner  who  was  to  constitute  a  bureau  of  labor 
statistics.  This  commissioner  was  to  collect  statistics  in  regard 
to  wholesale  and  retail  prices,  the  cost  of  agricultural  products, 
wages  of  skilled  and  unskilled  laborers  of  the  state,  hours  of  labor, 
number  of  workers  in  the  different  industries,  etc.  In  addition  to 
collecting  these  statistics,  he  was  required  to  visit  all  the  factories 
in  the  state  and  see  that  the  laws  were  enforced.  The  commis- 
sioner was  to  receive  $1500  a  year,  and  no  provision  was  made  for 
an  assistant  or  clerk.  He  was  only  allowed  $500  for  traveling 
expenses;  and  in  his  first  report  the  commissioner  stated  that  he 
had  found  it  an  impossibility  to  properly  perform  the  work  of 
inspection  of  factories  with  the  small  sum  of  money  and  with  the 
limited  time  he  had  left  from  his  other  duties.  In  1887,  in  response 
to  repeated  requests  of  the  commissioner  for  assistants,  two  inspec- 
tors were  appointed  and  penalties  were  attached  to  the  laws  which 
made  it  possible  to  enforce  them.  In  addition  to  factories,  these 
inspectors  were  required  to  visit  hotels,  lodging  houses,  churches 
and  schools  for  the  purposes  of  seeing  that  these  buildings  were  safe 
from  fire  hazards,  f 

The  first  factory  inspector  in  Maine  was  appointed  in  1887, 
and  in  1907  one  female  assistant  was  added.  In  Ohio,  the  first 
inspectors  were  appointed  in  1884  and  in  1904  there  were  thirteen 
inspectors. 

In  New  Jersey,  factory  inspection  began  in  1883,  and  in  1889 
six  inspectors  were  appointed.  In  1904  a  separate  department 
of  factory  inspection  with  eleven  inspectors  was  established. 

*  Bulletin,  State  of  Illinois,  Department  of  Factory  Inspection,"'jVol.   I,  No.  2,  Chicago, 
PI|  Reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  of  Wisconsin,  1883  and  1887 


520  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

In  Rhode  Island,  factory  inspection  began  in  1894  with  two 
inspectors,  one  of  whom  was  a  woman. 

In  Indiana,  factory  inspection  began  in  1887  with  one  chief 
and  five  inspectors. 

In  Tennessee,  factory  inspection  started  in  1895,  in  Delaware, 
in  1897  (with  one  female  inspector)  and  in  Missouri  in  1901. 

In  1887,  the  first  convention  of  factory  inspectors  was  held  in 
Boston.  At  this  date,  five  states  had  factory  inspection  depart- 
ments, Massachusetts  being  the  first.  The  others  were  New 
Jersey,  Ohio,  New  York  and  Wisconsin. 

Scope  and  Work  of  Factory  Inspection.  There  is  great 
diversity  in  the  number,  scope  and  extent  of  the  laws  to  be  enforced 
by  factory  inspection  departments  as  well  as  in  the  kind  and  charac- 
ter of  the  industrial  establishments  which  are  under  their  juris- 
diction. 

In  some  states  the  scope  of  the  laws  to  be  enforced  by  the  inspec- 
tion departments  is  very  wide  and  includes  child  and  woman's 
work,  hours  of  labor,  factory  construction,  fire  protection,  pre- 
vention of  accidents,  workmen's  compensation,  wage  payment, 
arbitration  and  mediation,  etc.  In  other  states  the  labor  laws 
to  be  enforced  by  the  factory  inspection  departments  chiefly  consist 
in  the  protection  of  child  and  women  workers  and  the  maintaining 
of  certain  working  conditions  within  the  factory. 

In  some  states  the  number  of  industrial  establishments  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  inspection  departments  is  limited  by  legal 
definitions  of  factory  or  workshop  which  confine  the  application 
of  the  law  either  to  establishments  employing  a  certain  number 
of  persons  or  to  establishments  of  a  certain  character.  In  other 
states  every  place  where  work  is  being  done  is  considered  a  work- 
shop and  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  factory  inspection  depart- 
ment. 

There  is  also  much  diversity  in  the  number  and  character  of  the 
administrative  bodies  or  institutions  which  are  empowered  to 
administer  the  labor  laws  and  to  enforce  factory  acts.  In  some 
countries,  notably  in  France  and  Belgium,  the  whole  work  is  cen- 
tered in  the  labor  inspection  departments,  and  the  only  assistance 
from  outside  bodies  that  these  departments  receive  is  from  the 
regular  prosecuting  and  judicial  functionaries. 

In  other  countries,  for  instance  in  England,  the  local  authorities 
are  a  coexisting  administrative  institution,  having  jurisdiction 
over  the  enforcement  of  all  sanitary  provisions  in  workshops.  This 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  521 

division  of  authority  between  the  factory  inspection  department 
and  the  local  government  is  the  result  of  certain  historical  develop- 
ments of  administrative  institutions  in  England. 

In  Germany,  there  are  three  great  bodies  in  charge  of  the  admin- 
istration of  factory  laws:  first,  the  industrial  inspectors  who  inspect 
factories  and  workshops  in  relation  to  sanitation,  safety  and  gen- 
eral industrial  conditions;  second,  the  inspectors  of  the  trade  asso- 
ciations who  are  charged  with  prevention  of  accidents;  and  third, 
the  police  authorities  who  do  a  great  deal  of  inspection  and  rein- 
spection  work,  gathering  statistical  data  and  having  sole  jurisdic- 
tion over  actual  enforcement  by  judicial  and  administrative  pro- 
cedures. 

In  Austria,  there  is  considerable  division  of  labor  between  the 
industrial  inspectors  and  the  local  industrial  authorities  who  have 
charge  of  the  prosecution  and  the  general  administration  of  the 
laws. 

In  Switzerland,  there  is  division  of  jurisdiction  between  the 
Federal  factory  inspectors  and  the  cantonal  inspectors,  and  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  is  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  local  police 
and  cantonal  authorities. 

Diversity  of  jurisdiction  in  the  enforcement  of  labor  laws  is  some- 
times advantageous,  because  it  gives  much  less  work  to  the  labor 
or  factory  inspection  department  and  makes  it  possible  for  more 
industrial  establishments  to  be  inspected.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
carries  disadvantages  in  the  division  of  authority  between  the  en- 
forcing institutions,  in  the  lack  of  uniformity  in  standards  of  inspec- 
tion, and  in  the  inevitable  friction  resulting  therefrom. 

In  the  United  States,  labor  laws  are  also  enforced  by  different 
departments,  boards  and  groups  of  officials.  .  In  New  York,  labor 
laws  are  enforced  by  the  Department  of  Labor,  by  the  Public  Service 
Commission,  by  the  State  Fire  Marshal,  by  the  Workmen's  Com- 
pensation Commission,  by  the  local  building  construction  officials, 
by  local  Boards  of  Health,  etc.  In  the  State  of  New  Jersey  the 
Department  of  Labor,  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labor  and  Indus- 
tries, the  Board  of  Health,  the  Boards  of  Public  Utilities,  the  local 
school  authorities,  etc.,  each  have  various  duties  in  respect  to  the 
enforcement  of  labor  legislation.  In  Massachusetts,  the  provisions 
of  the  labor  laws  are  enforced  by  the  Board  of  Labor  and  Indus- 
tries, the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  the  Board  of  District  Police,  the 
Board  of  Railroad  Commissioners,  the  Industrial  Accident  Board, 
the  Board  of  Conciliation  and  Arbitration,  the  Minimum  Wage 


522  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

Commission,  the  local  building  inspector,  the  local  Boards  of  Health, 
the  local  school  authorities,  etc.,  etc.  Similar  conditions  prevail 
in  other  states  where  the  enforcement  of  labor  laws  is  shared  by 
various  departments.* 

There  is  also  great  diversity  in  the  designation  of  the  institu- 
tions which  are  in  charge  of  factory  inspection.  This  is  less  so 
in  Europe  than  in  the  United  States.  In  eight  American  states 
factory  inspection  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  the  so-called 
"  Bureaus  of  Labor  Statistics."  The  next  most  frequent  titles  are 
"  Department  of  Labor/'  which  occurs  four  times;  "  Department 
of  Labor  and  Industry,"  which  occurs  three  times;  "  Bureau  of 
Labor,"  which  occurs  three  times;  "  Bureau  of  Labor  and  Indus- 
trial Statistics,"  which  occurs  in  two  states;  and  "  Factory  Inspec- 
tion Department,"  "  Department  of  Factory  Inspection "  and 
Bureau  of  Emigration,  Labor  and  Statistics."  "  Industrial  Com- 
mission "  also  occurs  twice,  and  then  follow  twenty-two  titles, 
no  two  of  which  are  alike,  making  a  total  of  thirty-one  titles  for  officers 
doing  practically  the  same  kind  of  work.f 

In  most  countries  in  Europe  there  are  several  methods  by  which 
special  administrative  provisions  having  the  force  of  law  may  be 
issued  for  the  guidance  of  factory  inspectors. 

In  England,  the  Secretary  of  State  is  empowered  to  make  rules 
and  regulations  for  certain  industries  after  special  investigation. 
Appeal  may  be  taken  against  the  decisions,  but  the  principle  is  well 
established  and  the  Secretary  of  State  thus  has  considerable  legis- 
lative power. 

In  other  European  countries,  the  Ministers  of  Industry,  Labor 
or  Commerce  who  have  jurisdiction  over  the  factory  inspection 
department,  have  considerable  legislative  and  administrative  power 
and  have  power  to  issue  rules  and  orders  interpreting  and  extending 
the  industrial  code. 

In  the  United  States,  until  lately,  the  factory  inspection  depart- 
ments were  simply  the  executive  agencies  of  the  state  and  had  no 
power  to  make  administrative  rules  and  regulations  or  to  add  to  the 
provisions  of  the  industrial  code.  Only  lately,  in  Wisconsin,  and 
then  in  New  York,  Massachusetts  and  Pennsylvania  were  indus- 
trial commissions  and  boards  created  with  power  to  issue  rules 
and  regulations  and  to  adopt  an  industrial  code  without  waiting 
for  acts  of  legislatures. 

*  Administration  of  Labor  Laws,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  4,  Publication  23  of  the  American  Labor 
.Legislative  Review,  Published  by  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation. 
T  Ibid. 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  523 

Almost  all  factory  legislation  provides  penalties  for  violations 
of  laws.  These  penalties  are  usually  small,  although  at  times  they 
may  reach  hundreds  of  dollars.  The  department  reports  state 
the  amount  of  fines  which  were  recovered  through  the  action  of 
their  inspectors;  these  fines  sometimes  reach  very  respectable 
sums. 

In  most  of  the  states  or  countries  the  prosecution  of  offenders 
against  the  factory  laws  is  carried  on  either  by  the  state  or  local 
prosecuting  officers  or  by  special  prosecutors,  attorneys,  corpor- 
ation counsels,  etc.,  who  are  assigned  to  the  factory  inspection 
department. 

In  England  the  factory  inspectors  themselves  act  as  prosecuting 
officers.  On  the  other  hand,  Germany  is  an  example  of  an  entirely 
opposite  attitude  toward  the  functions  of  factory  inspectors.  There, 
industrial  inspectors  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  enforcing 
the  law  or  prosecuting  offenders.  They  are  simply  technical 
experts,  who  give  their  advice  and  opinion  as  to  conditions  in  fac- 
tories and  industrial  establishments.  Violations,  wherever  found, 
are  referred  to  police  authorities;  and  all  work  of  prosecution  and 
subsequent  enforcement  and  penalization  is  in  their  hands.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  the  opinion  of  German  legislators  as  to  this 
special  character  of  their  industrial  inspectors.  The  following 
quotation  is  from  a  speech  made  in  1887,  during  the  discussion  of 
the  relations  of  factory  inspectors  to  police  authorities,  by  Minister 
Von  Boetticher.  He  says, 

"  The  factory  inspector  is  not  intended  to  become  a  police 
executive.  The  factory  inspector  is  an  official  who,  because  of  his 
technical  knowledge  is,  on  the  one  hand  an  adviser  to  the  authori- 
ties in  the  establishment  of  various  regulations  for  the  safety  of 
industrial  establishments;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  is  an  adviser  of 
the  industry  and  of  the  workers  in  the  sphere  which  is  given  to 
him.  The  real  police  tasks  of  factory  inspection  should  not  be 
within  the  sphere  of  the  activities  of  the  inspectors.  For  this  the 
factory  inspector  is  much  too  high.  This  function  may  be  left  to 
the  gendarmes." 

In  the  United  States,  factory  inspectors  are  usually  called  as 
witnesses  in  court  cases;  but  the  prosecution  is  in  the  hands  of 
attorneys  who  are  specially  designated  for  this  purpose  and  attached 
to  the  factory  inspection  department,  or  are  regular  prosecuting 
attorneys  of  the  county  or  the  municipality  in  which  the  offense 
occurs. 


524  'THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

The  duties  of  factory  inspectors  differ  according  to  the  scope 
of  factory  legislation  in  each  state  or  country;  but  in  most  countries 
they  consist  in  enforcing  the  provisions  of  the  labor  and  factory 
acts,  inspecting  the  various  industrial  establishments  under  their 
jurisdiction,  detecting  violations  of  the  law,  advising  employers 
of  such  improvements  in  their  establishments  as  would  tend  to  pre- 
vent industrial  accidents  and  occupational  diseases,  and  in  efforts 
to  improve  conditions  of  work  in  the  factories. 

The  inspectors  are  endowed  with  certain  powers,  the  most 
important  of  which  is  the  right  of  entry.  Next  to  this  is  the  right 
to  take  evidence,  to  require  the  production  of  documents  and  to 
enforce  compliance  with  the  requirements  of  the  law. 

There  is  hardly  any  inspection  department  or  administrative 
body  for  the  enforcement  of  factory  laws  in  which  there  is  no  pro- 
vision made  for  the  right  of  entry  of  the  inspectors  at  all  times  to 
all  industrial  establishments  under  their  jurisdiction.  Indeed, 
inspection  would  be  a  farce  if  such  right  of  entry  were  not  granted. 
There  is  some  divergence,  however,  in  the  provisions  as  to  right 
of  entry  during  the  night  time  or  when  no  work  is  being  performed. 
In  some  countries,  inspectors  have  no  such  right  during  the  night  or 
at  times  when  the  industrial  establishment  is  not  in  activity.  The 
right  of  entry  is  usually  granted  to  all  the  officers  of  factory  inspec- 
tion departments. 

Inspectors  show  their  authority  by  special  "  cards  of  legitimacy  " 
which,  in  some  European  countries  bear  the  photograph  of  the 
inspector.  In  the  United  States;  inspectors  usually  wear  official 
badges.  In  Germany,  the  right  of  entry  gives  the  inspectors  all 
the  powers  of  the  local  police  authorities  and  in  particular  the  right 
to  visit  work  places  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night.  The  right  of 
entry  is  extended  in  Austria  to  workmen's  dwellings,  which  are  under 
the  labor  law;  in  Belgium  to  premises  where  wages  are  paid,  and 
in  England  to  schools  where  children  employed  in  workshops  and 
factories  are  educated.  In  Italy  and  Russia,  the  inspectors  have 
the  right  of  entry  to  bedrooms,  messrooms,  creches  and  all  places 
appertaining  to  the  factory.  In  France  and  Luxemburg,  all  such 
schools  are  subject  to  inspection  even  if  the  education  given  is  of 
an  industrial  nature  or  if  they  are  charitable  institutions.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  Holland,  schools  and  institutions  of  this  kind  belong- 
ing to  the  state  are  not  subject  to  inspection. 

In  the  United  States,  the  right  of  entry  is  given  to  all  inspectors 
in  all  states.  The  right  of  taking  evidence  and  compelling  the  giving 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  525 

of  information  by  employers  and  workers  is  granted  in  most  states 
where  factory  inspection  departments  have  been  established  for 
some  time,  as  it  has  been  shown  that  this  right  is  of  great  importance 
to  the  proper  enforcement  of  factory  laws. 

Organization.  All  European  countries  have  a  system  of  factory 
or  industrial  inspection.  In  the  United  States,  of  the  forty-eight 
states  in  the  Union,  only  thirty-nine  have  provisions  for  factory 
inspection.  The  six  states  which  have  no  such  provisions  are  Ari- 
zona, Mississippi,  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  South  Dakota  and 
Wyoming.  Idaho  and  North  Dakota  have  no  factory  inspection, 
but  only  Bureaus  of  Statistics.  In  North  Carolina,  there  is  no 
enforcement  of  laws  over  factories  but  only  over  mines.  In  seven 
of  the  thirty-nine  states,  viz.,  Connecticut,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Massa- 
chusetts, Missouri,  New  Jersey  and  Rhode  Island,  there  are  separ- 
ate Bureaus  of  Factory  Inspection  and  Collection  and  Publication 
of  Labor  Statistics.* 

The  centralized  form  of  organization  predominates  among  all 
factory  inspection  departments  and  is  typified  by  the  oldest  factory 
inspection  department,  that  of  England.  Factory  inspection  in 
England  is  a  separate  department  of  the  Home  Office,  presided  over 
by  a  chief  inspector  who  is  responsible  for  all  the  work  of  the  depart- 
ment and  who  has  full  authority  over  the  department;  and  the 
whole  machinery  of  the  organization  is  then  divided  and  subdivided, 
classified  and  graded  so  as  to  form  one  compact,  highly  centralized 
and  highly  specialized  body. 

The  Industrial  Inspection  Department  of  Austria  has  an  organ- 
ization somewhat  similar  to  that  of  England,  but  is  not  so  highly 
centralized  and  gives  more  authority  and  independence  to  the  inspec- 
tors and  to  the  industrial  authorities  under  whom  the  inspectors 
serve. 

The  same  form  of  organization  is  also  found  in  Belgium,  except 
that  there  the  organization  is  still  less  cohesive  and  the  district 
inspectors  have  much  independent  authority. 

All  inspection  bureaus  and  departments  of  the  United  States 
have  a  strictly  centralized  organization.  They  are  all  presided  over 
by  a  chief  inspector  or  commissioner,  who  is  responsible  for  the  whole 
department  or  bureau,  and  who  usually  has  full  authority  to 
organize  his  department  according  to  the  law  and  in  most  cases 
has  great  powers  in  the  appointment  of  inspectors.  The  chief 

*  Administration  of  Labor  Laws,  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  Ill,  Publica- 
tion 23. 


526  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

inspector  has  also  full  authority  to  assign  inspectors  to  various 
functions. 

The  Prussian  Industrial  Inspection  Service  presents  an  antithesis 
to  the  centralized  government  of  England  and  the  United  States. 
In  Prussia,  the  department  has  no  chief  inspector,  the  organization 
of  enforcement  being  left  entirely  to  the  different  states  and  dis- 
trict governments.  Each  district  is  presided  over  by  a  special  indus- 
trial councilor,  between  whom  and  the  district  inspectors  there 
are  no  very  close  relations,  each  inspector  of  a  district  having  supreme 
authority  over  his  district  and  his  work.  Between  this  extreme 
decentralized  form  of  organization  and  the  highly  centralized  organ- 
ization of  England,  there  are  a  number  of  gradations,  such  as  those 
presented  by  the  inspection  departments  in  some  of  the  lesser  Ger- 
manic states. 

A  unique  form  of  organization  is  that  adopted  in  the  State 
of  Wisconsin  where  the  Industrial  Commission  was  created  in  1911. 
This  Commission  consists  of  three  members  who  have  sole  juris- 
diction over  factory  inspection,  labor  law  enforcement,  gathering 
of  publications  and  statistics,  workmen's  compensation,  employ- 
ment offices,  accident  prevention  and  everything  which  "  makes 
the  work  place  safe,"  safety  being  defined  by  the  law  as  "  such 
freedom  from  danger  to  life,  health  or  safety  as  the  nature  of  the 
employment  will  reasonably  permit."  This  Commission  has, 
besides  executive  powers,  considerable  legislative  and  administra- 
tive functions  and  has  been  enabled  by  the  legislature  to  issue  spe- 
cial rules  and  regulations,  set  standards  and  issue  an  industrial  code 
which  is  binding  on  all  concerned. 

Owing  to  the  high  character  and  ability  of  the  first  appointed 
commissioners,  the  Wisconsin  idea  has  worked  very  well  indeed, 
and  its  extension  and  acceptance  by  other  states  has  been  urged 
by  a  great  many  social  workers  and  those  interested  in  industrial 
matters.  Whether  the  Wisconsin  form  of  organization  would  have 
been  as  successful  with  a  personnel  of  commissioners  of  the  type 
usually  appointed  in  other  states,  is  doubtful.  At  any  rate,  the 
Wisconsin  precedent  has  not  been  followed  in  New  York,  Massa- 
chusetts, Pennsylvania,  California  and  Ohio,  where  industrial  boards 
have  been  appointed  with  considerable  legislative  but  without  any 
executive  power,  this  being  left,  as  before,  with  the  Labor  Com- 
missioner. 

In  the  organization  of  all  inspection  departments,  the  personnel 
consists  mainly  of  the  inspectors,  upon  whom  devolves  the  chief 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  527 

function  and  work  of  the  department,  that  of  inspection.  There  are 
different  classifications  and  gradings  of  inspectors  and  there  is  con- 
siderable difference  in  the  designation  and  grading  of  the  supervising 
force, — such  as  chief  inspectors,  deputy  chief  inspectors,  central 
inspectors,  commissioner,  deputy  commissioners,  etc. 

The  budgets  for  inspection  work  in  each  state  or  country  differ 
according  to  the  number  of  employes,  to  the  number  of  industrial 
establishments  and  to  the  character  and  extent  of  the  functions 
of  the  inspectors  and  of  the  inspection  department.  The  budgets 
range  from  the  lowest  of  about  $3000  in  the  State  of  Delaware,  to 
$691,220  in  New  York  State  in  1914. 

There  is  also  great  difference  in  the  extent  of  specialization  in 
the  inspection  departments  abroad  and  in  the  United  States.  In 
Prussia,  there  is  hardly  any  specialization  at  all,  as  all  the  inspec- 
tors must  be  technically  trained  persons,  able  to  make  inspec- 
tions in  all  different  industries,  processes,  etc.,  although  experts 
in  various  branches  may  be  called  in  from  time  to  time  when  neces- 
sary. There  is  no  division  of  labor  among  the  inspectors  and  no 
medical,  chemical  or  other  inspectors  are  appointed. 

This  is  also  the  case  in  France,  where  there  is  hardly  any  spe- 
cialization; and  division  as  well  as  departmental  inspectors  per- 
form all  the  functions,  although  some  of  the  inspectors  may  be 
specially  trained  in  certain  branches  of  industry. 

In  England  and  in  Austria  there  is  considerable  specialization 
among  the  inspectors;  thus,  there  are  in  England  inspectors  for- 
dangerous  trades,  for  textile  industries,  for  light,  for  electricity, 
besides  the  medical  division.  In  Austria  there  are  special  inspectors 
for  building  construction,  shipping  and  several  other  branches  of 
industry. 

In  the  United  States  there  has  developed  lately  a  tendency 
towards  specialization  of  functions  among  the  higher  grades  of 
inspectors.  Thus,  in  New  York,  there  are  special  inspectors  for 
safety,  ventilation,  fire,  etc.;  and  in  the  Division  of  Hygiene  there 
are  technically  trained  engineers,  physicians,  chemists,  etc.  Special- 
ization of  functions  also  prevails  in  some  of  the  work  of  the  Wis- 
consin Commission  and  in  the  work  of  the  Illinois,  Massachusetts, 
and  Pennsylvania  departments. 

The  growing  conviction  that  the  supervision  of  sanitary  condi- 
tions in  industrial  establishments,  the  prevention  of  occupational 
diseases  and  the  improvement  of  the  health  of  the  workers  are  sub- 
jects of  paramount  importance?  has  led  to  agitation  for  the  partici- 


528  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

pation  of  physicians  in  factory  inspection.  So  far,  there  are  very 
few  countries  in  Europe  and  very  few  states  in  the  Union  where 
medical  factory  inspection  has  been  established. 

The  only  European  countries  in  which  there  is  effective  medical 
factory  inspection  are  England  and  Belgium.  In  England,  the 
first  medical  factory  inspector  was  appointed  in  1894  and  at  present 
the  medical  division  consists  of  four  physicians  presided  over  by 
the  chief  medical  inspector,  Dr.  Legge.  In  Belgium,  Dr.  Glibert, 
who  was  appointed  in  1911,  has  organized  and  maintains  a  highly 
efficient  division  of  medical  factory  inspection  in  the  department, 
although  the  personnel  of  this  division  consists  only  of  four  physi- 
cians. Bavaria  and  Baden  each  have  a  physician  in  the  inspectorial 
service;  Austria  has  a  medical  consultant,  and  here  and  there  in 
different  countries  are  found  physicians  connected  with  the  inspec- 
torial service,  although  their  function  is  not  as  separate  and  dis- 
tinct as  in  England  and  Belgium. 

New  York  was  the  first  state  to  appoint  a  medical  factory  inspec- 
tor. This  was  done  in  1907,  and  when  the  department  was  reorgan- 
ized in  1914,  a  section  of  medical  factory  inspection  was  instituted 
consisting  of  a  chief  medical  factory  inspector  and  three  assistants. 
Illinois  in  1912  appointed  two  medical  factory  inspectors,  and 
lately  Pennsylvania  and  Massachusetts  have  followed  suit. 

All  labor  and  factory  legislation  in  all  countries  and  states  had 
its  origin  in  the  necessity  for  the  protection  of  children  and  women 
in  industry;  hence,  all  labor  legislation  began  with  the  restriction 
of  child  and  female  labor.  Such  restrictions  form  at  present  a  large 
part  of  every  industrial  code  in  all  countries  and  states,  and  the 
enforcement  of  the  child  and  women  labor  laws  constitute  a  major 
part  of  the  work  in  all  factory  inspection  departments.  The  chief 
agitation  for  protective  legislation  for  children  and  women  has  come 
from  social  workers  and  from  women,  and  there  has  been  from  the 
inception  of  factory  inspection,  a  strong  agitation  on  the  part  of 
women  for  the  appointment  of  women  factory  inspectors. 

The  first  women  inspectors  were  appointed  in  England  in  1893, 
and  since  then  there  has  been  a  separate  division  of  women  inspec- 
tors. This  division  at  present  consists  of  twenty  women  inspectors 
and  is  practically  independent  of  the  factory  inspection  department 
in  its  work  and  functions  and  is  subject  only  to  a  general  super- 
vision by  the  chief  factory  inspector.  The  position  of  women  fac- 
tory inspectors  in  England  is  unique,  and  their  standing  is  exceed- 
ingly high. 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  529 

There  are  eighteen  women  inspectors  in  France,  two  female 
inspectors  in  Belgium,  five  female  inspectors  in  Austria,  fifteen  in 
Prussia,  none  in  the  Federal  Inspection  Department  of  Switzer- 
land and  a  few  here  and  there  in  the  Germanic  states.  Outside  of 
England,  the  functions  of  female  inspectors  are  limited  to  the  inspec- 
tion of  smaller  shops  where  chiefly  women  and  children  are  employed. 
Their  position  is  of  a  lower  grade  than  that  of  the  male  inspectors; 
their  salaries  are  much  smaller;  but  their  work  is  an  integral  part 
of  the  work  of  each  district  factory  inspector,  except  perhaps  in 
Belgium,  where  they  work  more  or  less  independently  and  have 
charge  also  of  the  mercantile  establishments. 

In  the  United  States  there  are  a  number  of  women  in  the  factory 
inspection  departments  of  the  different  states.  Some  of  the  women 
were  appointed  when  the  departments  were  created;  others  have 
been  added  to  the  inspection  force  from  time  to  time.  The  follow- 
ing gives  the  number  of  women  inspectors  in  the  several  states 
of  the  Union  which  have' factory  inspection  departments:  New 
York,  30;  Ohio,  8;  Pennsylvania,  5;  Massachusetts  and  Minne- 
sota, 4;  Illinois,  Michigan,  New  Jersey,  Wisconsin  and  Maryland, 
3;  California,  Connecticut,  2;  Colorado,  Delaware,  Iowa,  Kansas, 
Kentucky,  Maine,  Missouri,  Rhode  Island,  Utaji,  and  Washing- 
ton, 1. 

The  main  arguments  for  the  appointment  of  women  inspectors 
are  (1)  the  very  large  percentage  of  women  in  industrial  establish- 
ments, (2)  the  considerable  number  of  provisions  in  every  labor  and 
factory  code  protecting  women  in  industrial  establishments,  (3) 
the  greater  sympathy  and  understanding  of  women  inspectors  for 
the  needs  of  their  sex  and  the  enforcement  of  the  child  labor  law, 
(4)  the  greater  confidence  that  women  and  child  workers  feel  towards 
women  inspectors,  (5)  the  special  adaptability  and  worth  of  women 
in  inspectorial  work,  (6)  the  possible  reluctance  of  women  workers 
to  complain  about  certain  sanitary  matters  to  male  inspectors. 

In  this  country  the  principle  has  been  firmly  established  that 
women  have  a  right  to  participation  in  factory  inspection,  and 
it  has  been  proven  that  they  are  capable  of  doing  good  work;  and 
that  there  is  no  reason  for  excluding  women  from  a  branch  of  state 
service  in  which  they  have  shown  themselves  so  efficient.  The 
objection  that  women  factory  inspectors  do  not,  as  a  rule,  possess 
the  highly  specialized  training  in  safety  and  mechanical  appliances 
may  hold  good  in  Germany  or  in  countries  where  only  highly  tech- 
nically trained  persons  are  accepted  as  factory  inspectors;  but 


530  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

not  in  countries  and  states  where  inspectors  are  appointed  without 
any  special  technical  training. 

In  Europe  there  is  also  great  agitation  for  the  appointment 
of  inspectors  from  the  laboring  class  who  have  had  practical  train- 
ing in  manual  and  mechanical  work.  This  subject  has  been  dis- 
cussed and  agitated  with  considerable  bitterness,  especially  by 
representatives  of  labor  organizations.  The  demand  is  made  for 
the  creation  of  a  lower  grade  of  inspectors,  composed  of  workmen 
to  be  selected  without  examination  or  with  a  special  examination. 
There  is,  however,  much  opposition  to  this  demand.  The  opposi- 
tion comes  often  from  the  government  and  also  from  the  inspectors 
themselves.  In  England,  we  find  the  inspectorial  service  divided 
into  two  classes,  the  lower  grade  consisting  of  workmen  inspectors, 
numbering  fifty-five.  Their  functions  are  limited,  their  salaries 
lower  and  their  status  different  from  that  of  the  regular  factory 
inspectors.  In  Prussia,  France  and  Switzerland  there  are  as  yet 
no  such  inspectors,  although  the  pressure  on  the  government  from 
labor  organizations  and  the  social  democratic  and  radical  political 
parties  is  very  great.  In  some  of  the  Germanic  states  a  few  inspec- 
tors from  the  laboring  class  have  been  appointed.  In  Austria  there 
are  two  workingmen  inspectors  for  special  functions,  and  there  are 
also  a  few  in  Belgium. 

In  the  United  States,  there  cannot  be  any  division  of  classes 
among  regular  inspectors  and  workmen  inspectors,  and  most  of 
the  inspectors  are  persons  who  have  previously  pursued  some 
mechanical  occupation  and  who  were  either  selected  because  they 
had  passed  their  civil  service  examination  or  because  of  their  affilia- 
tion with  labor  organizations. 

Methods  of  Selection  and  Character  cf  Factory  Inspectors. 
The  efficiency  of  a  factory  inspection  department  depends  partly 
upon  its  form  of  organization,  the  functions  it  has  to  perform,  the 
scope  of  its  work,  the  appropriations  the  state  makes  for  the  pur- 
poses of  factory  inspection,  and  in  a  large  measure  upon  the  char- 
acter, qualifications  and  efficiency  of  the  inspectors  themselves. 

The  functions  of  a  factory  inspection  department  are  three- 
fold:—(1)  detection  of  the  violations  of  the  factory  acts;  (2)  pre- 
vention of  industrial  accidents  and  disease;  and  (3)  education 
of  employers  and  employes  in  order  to  get  their  cooperation  in  the 
enforcement  of  the  factory  laws  and  the  prevention  of  industrial 
accidents  and  disease.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  in  most  factory 
inspection  departments  the  detection  of  violations  seems  to  be 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  531 

their  main  and  most  important  function;  and  this  is  especially  true 
of  the  United  States.  The  prevention  of  accidents  and  disease 
should  be  the  paramount  function  of  the  department.  Neither 
in  Europe  nor  in  the  United  States  is  there  as  much  prominence 
given  to  the  educational  functions  of  the  departments  as  they  deserve. 

For  the  efficient  organization  of  factory  inspection  and  proper 
enforcement  of  labor  and  factory  laws,  the  inspectors  should  be 
possessed  of  the  highest  possible  qualifications.  Factory  inspectors 
should  be  recruited  from  the  most  intelligent  and  best  classes  of 
the  community.  He  who  wishes  to  devote  himself  to  the  profes- 
sion of  factory  inspector  should  be  endowed  with  a  good  physique 
and  robust  health.  He  should  have  a  gentlemanly  bearing  and  be 
able  to  meet  on  an  equal  footing  employers,  superintendents  and 
managers  of  the  plants  he  inspects,  and  should  also  possess  tact  so 
as  to  be  able  to  sail  safely  between  the  Scylla  of  capital  and  the 
Charybdis  of  labor  and  not  seem  to  be  partisan  to  either  side. 

The  factory  inspector  should  have  a  prolonged  training  and 
experience  in  industrial  work  and  have  the  practical  knowledge  of 
industrial  conditions  so  necessary  for  intelligent  inspection  of  fac- 
tories and  workshops.  A  factory  inspector  should  have  a  good 
general  education  so  as  to  enable  him  to  stand  on  a  basis  of  equality 
with  the  average  intelligent  employer  and  manufacturer. 

Aside  from  all  these  qualifications,  the  inspector  should  go 
through  special  technical  training  in  matters  of  industrial  hygiene, 
in  architecture  of  factory  buildings,  in  theory  and  practice  of  fac- 
tory lighting,  ventilation  and  sanitation.  A  good  technical  knowl- 
edge of  machinery  is  also  necessary  in  order  to  enable  him  to 
inspect  all  kinds  of  machinery,  to  criticize  safeguards  and  suggest 
improvements. 

The  inspector  should  also  have  a  general  knowledge  of  the  various 
kinds  of  dusts,  their  effects  and  methods  of  prevention,  should  know 
the  different  industrial  poisons,  their  specific  effects  and  means 
of  prevention.  He  should  also  be  able  to  make  the  necessary  tests 
of  air,  light  and  ventilation  which  are  within  the  province  and 
functions  of  factory  inspection;  in  short,  be  an  expert  in  indus- 
trial hygiene.  It  is  desirable  that  an  inspector  should  be  able  to 
speak  the  languages  which  the  working  population  in  his  district 
use  and  also  be  able  to  give  lectures  and  talks  to  classes  of  workers 
and  educational  institutions. 

It  is  with  regret  that  one  has  to  state  that  the  general  character 
of  factory  inspectors  in  the  United  States  falls  very  far  short  of  the 


532  L  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

above  ideal  requirements.  Of  the  nearly  twelve  hundred  inspectors 
in  the  bureaus  and  departments  of  factory  inspection  in  the  differ- 
ent states,  there  are  few  who  fulfill  all  the  above  qualifications. 
This  is  admitted  by  all  writers  on  the  subject  and  all  who  are 
acquainted  with  the  character  of  factory  inspectors  in  the  United 
States.  There  are  a  number  of  reasons  for  this  condition,  the 
principal  being  the  method  used  in  selecting  factory  inspectors 
and  the  general  conception  of  state  service  in  this  country. 

Selection  for  fitness  is  still  a  rare  method  of  appointment  of 
factory  inspectors  in  the  states.  Labor  laws  and  factory  inspec- 
tion departments  have  been  won  from  reluctant  legislatures  by 
the  efforts  of  partisan  politicians  and  political  labor  unions;  and 
when  these  laws  are  enacted  and  inspection  departments  established, 
the  spoils  usually  go  to  victorious  politicians  without  regard  to  the 
necessary  qualifications  of  the  personnel.  As  a  writer  on  the  subject 
aptly  says,  "  As  a  rule,  laws  regulating  the  employment  of  labor 
have  been  won  from  indifferent  legislatures  as  concession  to  the  labor 
vote;  and  the  offices  created  in  this  way  have  been  usually  conceded 
to  the  union  as  a  sop  to  Cerberus."* 

In  a  report  issued  in  1910  by  the  National  Civic  Federation's 
Committee  on  Improvement  of  Factory  Inspection,  the  following 
statement  is  made: 

"  Obviously  the  effectiveness  of  the  inspection  of  factories  must 
depend  first,  upon  the  statutory  requirements,  and  second,  upon  the 
efficiency  of  the  individual  inspectors.  The  collected  returns  from 
States  show  that  the  tenure  of  office  of  inspectors  varies  from  two 
to  four  years  or  is  at  the  will  of  the  commissioner  of  labor,  or  of  the 
governor,  or  during  good  behavior.  The  inference  is  that  there  is 
needed  more  protection  of  inspectors  against  political  or  personal 
influence  in  the  performance  of  their  duties.  In  nearly  every  state 
reported,  no  examination  is  required  for  appointment  as  inspector. 
Two  exceptions  are  New  York  and  Wisconsin,  where  the  returns 
state  a  civil  service  examination  is  required.  The  inference  is  that 
there  is  a  generally  prevalent  defect  in  statutes,  which  leaves  the 
administration  of  whatever  the  statutory  requirements  as  to  inspec- 
tion may  be,  open  to  personal  or  political  interest  or  influence." 

In  a  report  on  the  efficiency  of  the  factory  inspection  machin- 
ery in  the  United  States,  E.  F.  Brown  has  stated  the  conditions 
in  a  nutshell,  as  follows: 

J  B.  Herron:  Factory  Inspection  in  the  United  States,  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  1907, 


FACTOKY  INSPECTION  533 

"  Finally,  the  most  dangerously  unguarded  machinery  I  have 
known  is  the  machinery  of  factory  inspection  in  the  United  States, 
exposed  to  a  most  pernicious  political  influence,  and  to  the  parsimony 
of  legislators,  rendering  possible  the  industrial  diseases  and  accidents 
which  a  provident  nation  would  promptly  make  impossible."* 

Mr.  Brown  further  states  that 

"  in  twenty  states  the  head  of  the  labor  department  is  desig- 
nated by  the  governor,  and  his  term  of  office  depends  usually  on 
the  political  fortunes  of  his  chief.  The  absence  of  a  permanent 
official  in  this  important  post  makes  it  possible  for  politics  to  play 
no  uncertain  game,  both  in  the  choice  and  in  the  character  of  the 
man  who  is  sworn  to  enforce  the  labor  laws.  The  best  type  of 
man  is  not  always  attracted  to  the  position.  To  my  mind,  no 
state,  except  possibly  Massachusetts  and  Wisconsin,  has  entirely 
freed  its  labor  department  from  a  destructive  political  influence. 
This  is,  I  think,  the  one  cloud  which  hovers  over  the  otherwise 
successful  administration  of  labor  laws  by  commissions.  In  only 
five  states  in  the  United  States, — New  York,  Massachusetts,  New 
Jersey,  Wisconsin  and  Illinois — are  inspectors  required  to  qualify 
through  the  civil  service  test,  and  unfortunately,  in  even  some 
of  these  five  the  test  does  not  appear  to  be  the  last  word  in  the 
selection  of  able  and  honest  assistants." 

Of  the  character  of  inspectors,  Mr.  Brown  speaks  as  follows: 

"  In  Pennsylvania,  where  I  recently  made  an  investigation  of 
the  administration  of  the  department,  I  found  that  many  of  the 
factory  inspectors  were  conducting  private  business  enterprises 
while  holding  commissions  in  the  department.  One  is  alleged  to 
have  sold  fire  insurance  to  the  establishments  he  was  sworn  to  in- 
spect impartially.  Another  kept  a  saloon.  Still  another  was  in 
the  coal  business.  In  another  state,  where  the  chief  factory  inspec- 
tor divides  his  time  between  conducting  a  livery  stable  he  owns 
and  the  business  of  caring  for  some  30,000  factory  wage-earners, 
I  found  him  contributing  a  remarkably  concise  annual  report  con- 
sisting of  exactly  fourteen  words.  It  reads,  under  date  of  July  1, 
1911,  as  follows:  1 1  have  visited  the  same  factories  as  last  year 
and  find  conditions  the  same.'  "f 

In  the  most  recent  report  on  the  administration  of  labor  law 
by  the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  the  following 
data  is  given  as  to  the  methods  of  selection  and  appointment  of 
inspectors : 

*  Report  of  the  Sixth  Annual  Meeting  of  American  Assoc.  for  Labor  Legislation,  p.  28. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  27. 


534  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

California: — Commissioner  is  appointed  by  the  governor.  He 
in  turn  appoints  deputies,  assistant  deputies  and  inspectors.  Only 
special  agents  are  under  civil  service. 

Indiana: — Deputies  and  assistant  deputies  must  have  ten  years" 
practical  experience  in  their  respective  lines,  but  they  are  appointed 
by  the  chief  inspector  with  the  consent  of  the  governor. 

Kansas,  Kentucky:— Some  practical  experience  is  required 
of  inspectors. 

Massachusetts,  Minnesota,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Ohio, 
Wisconsin,  Colorado,  Illinois: — Inspectors  are  under  civil  service. 

In  other  states  inspectors  are  either  political  appointees  or  are 
required  to  have  some  practical  experience,  which  is  judged  solely 
by  the  appointive  powers;  or  else  they  must  belong  to  labor  organ- 
izations. 

In  most  states  the  higher  grades  of  inspectors,  the  chiefs,  com- 
missioners and  deputies  upon  whose  character  the  efficiency  of  the 
department  greatly  depends  are  political  appointees,  and  their 
tenure  of  office  usually  lasts  as  long  as  the  political  party  to  which 
they  belong  is  in  power.  They  cannot,  therefore,  expect  to  remain 
in  the  factory  inspection  department  for  all  their  lives  or  during 
behavior  and  good  work,  and  must  necessarily  regard  their  office 
as  but  a  temporary  sojourn  in  their  meteoric  political  career.  They 
are  under  obligations  to  the  political  parties  or  to  persons  from 
whom  they  receive  their  appointments  and  are  necessarily  guided 
in  the  selection  of  the  lower  grades  of  inspectors  as  well  as  in  their 
official  work  by  political  exigencies.  |-=M 

The  lower  grades  of  inspectors  are  subject  to  civil  service  exam- 
inations only  in  the  few  states  which  have  been  noted;  in  all  the 
rest  no  civil  service  examination  is  required  and  the  appointment 
of  inspectors  is  made  for  the  same  political  reasons  as  that  of  their 
superiors. 

Civil  service  examinations  in  the  larger  states  such  as  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Massachusetts,  Illinois,  etc.,  have  been  greatly 
improved  during  the  last  decade,  so  that  at  present  they  are  more 
or  less  an  indication  as  to  the  character  and  knowledge  of  the  can- 
didates for  inspectors.  But  even  in  these  states  the  tenure  of  an 
inspector's  office  is  not  safeguarded  because  of  the  possibility  of  arbi- 
trary discharge  by  his  superiors  either  during  probation  period  or 
after,  and  because  of  the  character  of  the  commissioners  and  chief 
inspectors. 

No  special  technical  training,   diplomas  or  educational  quali- 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  535 

fications  are  required  from  candidates  for  factory  inspectors  even 
in  those  states  where  civil  service  examinations  have  already  been 
established  on  a  firm  basis.  The  character  of  the  questions  given 
on  the  various  examinations  is  such  that  a  person  with  little 
experience  and  instruction  may  be  able  to  cram  the  necessary  knowl- 
edge within  a  few  weeks  and  pass  a  satisfactory  examination. 

Not  only  is  the  inspector  who  has  been  appointed  after  a  civil 
service  examination  insecure  in  his  tenure  of  office  and  therefore 
unable  to  regard  his  work  as  a  life  service,  but  he  is  doubtful  of  his 
regular  promotion,  and  in  no  state  is  there  provision  for  a  pension 
after  a  certain  number  of  years  of  service  or  upon  reaching  old  age. 

The  three  fundamental  principles  upon  which  efficient  state 
service  must  be  based  are  (1)  security  of  tenure  of  office,  (2)  reg- 
ular promotion  for  merit  and  length  of  service,  and  (3)  pension  for 
years  of  service  and  old  age.  Without  any  one  of  these  there  can 
be  no  possible  efficiency  in  state  service,  nor  can  employes  regard 
their  position  as  a  life  profession. 

As  is  well  known,  it  is  the  practice  in  the  majority  of  states, 
even  when  civil  service  prevails,  to  appoint  commissioners,  chiefs, 
assistants  and  supervisors  not  from  the  rank  and  file  of  inspectors 
but  from  outside  elements,  usually  from  political  henchmen  of  the 
powers  that  be.  It  is  only  in  exceptional  cases  that  promotion 
for  years  of  service  is  attained  by  the  competent  inspector.  The 
rule  is  that  incompetent  outsiders  get  the  higher  salaries  and  higher 
grade  positions.  With  such  a  practice  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  com- 
petent, the  energetic  and  the  bright  inspector  despairs  of  obtaining 
his  due  promotion,  and  leaves  the  department  just  at  a  time  when 
his  experience  and  services  become  valuable. 

With  the  meagre  compensation  that  most  of  the  inspectors  of 
the  lower  grades  receive,  they  cannot  posssibly  save  for  old  age, and 
there  is  no  pension  provided  in  any  of  the  states  for  the  factory 
inspectors.  The  salaries  vary  with  the  state  and  position  from 
$900  per  year  to  $1000  and  $1200,  which  is  the  salary  paid  in  New 
York  and  other  large  states  to  the  ordinary  factory  inspector  for  a 
great  number  of  years. 

Factory  Inspectors  in  Europe.  In  contrast  with  the  condi- 
tions prevalent  in  the  Unites  States,  it  will  perhaps  be  interesting 
to  describe  the  methods  of  selection  and  examination  in  several 
European  countries.  In  all  the  European  countries  which  I  visited, 
labor  and  factory  inspection  is  considered  as  a  profession  just  as 
law,  medicine  or  engineering.  Factory  inspection  is  an  integral 


536  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

part  of  the  bureaucratic  regime  and  a  branch  of  state  service. 
Those  who  enter  this  profession  are  hardly  ever  younger  than 
twenty-five  years  of  age  and  are  usually  not  older  than  thirty  years. 
They  have  to  go  through  a  rigid  and  arduous  training  and  when  they 
do  become  inspectors  they  remain  such  for  life.  In  the  practice  of 
factory  inspection  as  well  as  in  the  other  intelligent  professions 
there  is  no  place  either  for  the  very  young  and  inexperienced  or  for 
the  very  old  or  for  those  who  have  failed  in  other  walks  of  life. 

In  all  European  countries,  the  personality  of  the  candidate 
plays  a  most  important  role,  apart  from  any  scientific  education, 
technical  training  and  other  requirements  imposed.  The  appointive 
powers  in  all  countries  select  only  those  who  have  passed  certain 
tests  and  examinations,  and  also  determine  who  shall  take  those 
tests.  This  system  of  nomination  and  appointment  serves  to  exclude 
undesirable  candidates,  even  those  of  superior  education  and 
technical  training.  Theoretically,  it  does  not  exclude  appointment 
for  political  influence;  practically,  however,  such  appointments  are 
hardly  known  in  England  and  on  the  continent. 

The  principles  as  well  as  the  methods  of  selecting  candidates 
differ  in  each  country.  Prussia  and  most  Germanic  states  demand 
very  high  special  technical  training,  while  England  only  requires 
a  certain  number  in  special  departments  to  be  technically  trained 
men.  In  France,  the  inspectors  are  not  all  technically  trained 
men,  although  the  examinations  are  more  technical  than  in  England 
and  the  technical  branches  are  the  most  important  part  in  the  com- 
petitive examination.  In  Austria,  most  of  the  inspectors  are 
mechanics,  chemists,  electricians  and  engineers.  In  Belgium 
there  is  no  examination  whatever.  The  personnel  of  the  inspectors 
is  divided  between  the  technically  trained  men  and  experienced 
mechanics  coming  from  the  working  class.  The  countries  which 
give  rigid  examinations  and  tests  are  England,  France  and  Prussia. 

The  tenure  of  office  of  all  the  inspectors  in  European  countries 
is  absolutely  secure.  Once  a  candidate  has  been  accepted  as  an 
inspector  he  remains  in  the  service  during  his  life  and  there  are 
very  few  instances  of  an  inspector  losing  his  position. 

Promotion  in  all  European  countries  is  regular,  at  stated  periods 
and  is  given  for  length  of  service  combined  with  competence  and 
experience.  So  regular  is  the  promotion  that  an  inspector  may 
calculate  beforehand  the  date  at  which  he  will  reach  next  higher 
grade.  All  inspectors  of  the  highest  grade,  all  supervisors,  chiefs 
and  heads  of  bureaus  come  from  the  ranks  after  due  promotion. 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  537 

There  is  no  possibility  of  an  outsider  being  appointed  as  chief  inspec- 
tor, a  practice  which  would  be  resented  by  all;  and  only  on  rare 
occasions  may  an  outsider  enter  the  service  in  the  highest  ranks 
and  then  only  by  reason  of  special  qualifications  recognized  and 
justified  by  all. 

Every  country  in  Europe  gives  a  pension  to  the  factory  inspec- 
tors as  well  as  to  other  officials  in  state  service.  The  amount  of 
pension  differs  according  to  the  country. 

In  England,  after  the  inspectors  reach  the  age  of  sixty,  they  may 
retire  upon  their  request  and  the  consent  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 
At  the  age  of  65,  their  retirement  is  compulsory.  The  inspectors 
may  also  be  retired  for  disability  before  the  age  prescribed.  Pen- 
sion is  hardly  ever  given  before  the  expiration  of  ten  years  of  ser- 
vice. The  amount  of  pension  given  upon  retirement  is  one-eighth 
of  the  salary  for  every  year  of  service.  To  this  annuity  is  added 
a  lump  sum  amounting  to  the  salary  of  one  year.  For  example, 
if  an  inspector  has  been  in  the  service  of  his  department  for  twenty 
years  and  has  been  paid  at  the  rate  of  £800  per  year  during  the  last 
three  years  of  service,  he  receives  upon  his  retirement  20/80  or 
one-fourth  of  £800  or  an  annuity  of  £200  during  his  life,  with  an 
addition  of  £800  given  to  him  upon  the  day  of  his  retirement. 

The  German'  industrial  inspectors  are  incorporated  in  the 
Prussian  bureaucratic  system  and  receive  pensions  during  disability; 
and  after  twenty  to  twenty-five  years  of  service.  This  pension  is 
based  upon  the  salary  of  the  officials,  upon  their  rank,  upon  the 
number  of  years  in  service,  and  upon  their  age  at  retirement.  The 
amount  of  pension  varies  from  one-third  to  two-thirds  of  the  salary 
received  at  the  period  of  retirement. 

In  France,  labor  inspectors  have  the  right  to  pensions  under 
the  same  conditions  as  all  public  functionaries.  Inspectors  may 
receive  a  retirement  pension  after  twenty  years  of  service  upon 
reaching  the  age  of  fifty-five  years.  The  pension  is  half  of  the 
average  salary  which  an  inspector  has  enjoyed  during  the  last  six 
years.  Retiring  inspectors,  especially  division  inspectors,  may  at 
their  retirement,  receive  the  title  of  honorary  division  inspector. 

In  Austria,  inspectors  are  entitled  to  pensions  according  to  the 
pension  system  of  the  Austrian  state  officials.  Such  pensions 
may  be  given  after  ten  years  of  service  in  case  of  disability  when 
the  sum  does  not  exceed  forty  per  'cent,  of  the  salary.  After  thirty- 
five  years  of  service  pensions  are  given  to  the  full  amount  of  the 
salary. 


538 


THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


In  Belgium,  inspectors  are  usually  given  a  pension  after  twenty 
years  of  service.  The  pension  usually  ranges  from  2000  francs  up. 

The  compensation  which  factory  inspectors  receive  in  European 
countries  is,  with  the  exception  of  England,  very  meagre  and  hardly 
to  be  compared  with  the  salaries  given  in  the  United  States.  Tak- 
ing, however,  into  consideration  the  lower  cost  of  living,  the  security 
of  tenure  of  office,  the  regular  promotion,  the  assured  pension  and 
the  low  compensation  general  in  the  state  service  in  European 
countries,  the  compensation  is  not  so  very  much  lower  than  in 
America. 

Americans  are  very  often  astonished  at  the  ease  with  which 
continental  governments  are  enabled  to  obtain  for  their  inspectorial 
service  persons  of  such  high  social  and  educational  standing,  espe- 
cially for  the  small  compensation  that  most  of  these  inspectors  receive. 
But  the  solution  of  the  problem  is,  as  already  indicated,  in  the 
security  of  state  service.  State  service  is  a  high  desideratum  in  all 
European  countries;  it  is  regarded  with  devotion  and  deep  respect; 
it  is  the  ideal  of  the  youth  of  the  country;  and  all  persons  after  hav- 
ing gone  through  the  middle  and  higher  grades  of  educational  estab- 
lishments vie  with  each  other  in  their  efforts  to  enter  the  ranks 
of  state  officials  and  the  series  of  bureaucratic  departments. 

What  are  the  actual  results  to  the  country,  to  the  service,  and 
to  the  enforcement  of  labor  and  factory  laws  of  obtaining  so  high 
a  grade  of  inspectors? 

In  the  first  place,  inspectors  of  this  class  having  gone  through 
such  a  long,  arduous,  and  rigid  preparation,  regard  their  vocation 
as  a  life  profession,  look  upon  it  seriously,  hesitate  before  they 
hazard  their  life's  work  for  a  mess  of  pottage  and  are  not  likely  to 
be  led  into  temptation  by  dishonest  employers.  In  the  second 
place,  a  long  preparation  is  of  service  in  developing  their  tact,  in 
teaching  them  the  use  of  diplomacy  in  handling  employers  and 
employes,  and  in  preparing  them  for  the  duties  of  responsible  dis- 
trict inspectors. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  result  of  the  high  character  of 
the  personnel  of  the  inspectors  is  the  regard  and  respect  which  they 
command  from  employers,  manufacturers  and  technical  managers 
of  industrial  plants.  There  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  any  of  the  con- 
tempt which  is  so  often  encountered  in  the  relations  of  owners  and 
technical  managers  towards  the  green  and  inexperienced  factory 
inspectors  in  the  States.  The  employers  and  their  managers  know 
that  these  inspectors  are  well  trained  and  are  specialists  in  their 


FACTORY  INSPECTION 


539 


line;  hence,  they  are  willing  to  abide  by  the  inspectors'  advice  and 
follow  their  requirements. 

Within  the  department,  the  results  are  seen  in  the  perfect  com- 
radeship among  the  inspectors  themselves;  the  lack  of  bullying  by 
superiors,  the  respect  of  one  grade  of  inspector  to  another  grade 
of  inspector,  no  matter  what  the  position  may  be.  Where  the 
chief  supervisors  and  higher  grade  of  inspectors  are  taken  by  regu- 
lar promotion  from  the  ranks  and  not  from  the  outside,  amicable 
relations  and  mutual  respect  exist  between  the  different  grades  of 
inspectors. 

Nowhere  on  the  continent  do  factory  inspectors  receive  as  high 
salaries  as  they  are  paid  in  England.  In  respect  to  the  salaries 
paid,  England  is  the  most  liberal  of  all  European  countries.  The 
salary  of  the  chief  inspector  is,  according  to  the  original  schedule, 
£1200  per  annum,  but  this  has  been  increased  by  special  arrange- 
ment in  the  case  of  Sir  Arthur  Whitelegge,  the  present  chief  inspec- 
tor, to  £1500  per  annum.  The  two  deputy  factory  inspectors 
receive  £750  to  £900.  The  following  table  shows  the  minimum 
and  maximum  salaries  of  various  grades  of  inspectors  with  the 
yearly  increase. 


Minimum. 

Maximum. 

Yearly 
Increase. 

£ 

500 

£ 

800 

£ 

25 

Superintending  Inspector.    

600 

750 

25 

Principal  Lady  Inspector 

400 

500 

Inspectors  in  Grade  1A  

300 

550 

20 

300 

400 

15 

Senior  Lady  Inspectors                    

300 

400 

15 

Ijflidy  Inspectors                                             .  .  • 

200 

300 

10 

200 

300 

10 

250 

200 

5 

Assistant  Inspectors  (Juniors).      .  .  .  •.  

100 

250 

5 

In  Prussia  the  salaries  of  the  inspectors  are  as  follows: 

(1)  Industrial  Referendars  receive  no  salary. 

(2)  Industrial  Assessors  receive  2400  marks  the  first  year,  3075 

marks  the  second  year,  and  3450  marks  the  third  year. 

(3)  Industrial  Inspectors  receive  3000,  3600,  4200,  4800,  5400, 

6000,  6600  and  7200  marks. 

(4)  The   State  and   Industrial   Councilors  receive  4200,   4800, 

5400,  6000,  6600  and  7200  marks, 


540  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

In  France,  there  are  three  classes  of  division  inspectors  and 
five  classes  of  departmental  inspectors,  who  receive  salaries  as 
follows:  division  inspectors  receive  from  6000  to  8000  francs  per  an- 
num, respectively;  departmental  inspectors  receive  5000,  4500, 
4000,  3500  and  3000  francs  per  annum,  respectively.  The  inspector 
stagiares  (probationary  inspectors)  receive  2400  francs  per  annum. 

In  Austria,  the  salaries  of  inspectors  are  rated  according  to  their 
grade  and  length  of  service.  Inspectors  are  given  stated  salaries 
with  yearly  increases.  Besides  salaries,  a  certain  addition  (zulage) 
is  given  to  inspectors,  which  differs  according  to  the  grade  of  ser- 
vice. The  salaries  of  inspectors  range  from  1600  to  12,000  Kronen 
(a  Kron  is  about  19c.). 

In  Belgium  the  salaries  of  inspectors  are  as  follows: 

Salary. 

First  Inspector  General 10,000  francs. 

Chief  Inspectors 9,000  to  10,000  francs. 

Provincial  Chief  Inspectors 7,500  to    8,500  ' ' 

Medical  Inspectors 6,500  to    7,500  ' ' 

Inspectors 4,500  to    6,500  ' ' 

Adjoint  Inspectors 2,400  to    4,000  " 

Editors 2,400  to    4,000  " 

Delegated  Inspectors 2,000  to    2,600  " 

In  Switzerland,  the  salaries  of  inspectors  and  their  adjuncts  are 
as  follows: 

Salary. 

Inspectors 6,200  to  8,200  francs. 

Adjunct — 1st  Class 5,200  to  6,200      ' ' 

Adjunct— 2d  Class 3,700  to  4,700      " 

Office  Clerks 2,000  to  3,500      " 

Methods  of  Supervision  and  Inspection.  Factory  inspection 
departments  were  established  in  order  to  enforce  labor  laws.  The 
functions  of  the  first  factory  inspectors  and  of  factory  inspection 
departments,  therefore,  were  mainly  the  detection  of  violations 
and  the  discovery  of  those  manufacturers  who  were  disobeying 
the  provisions  of  the  law.  The  methods,  therefore,  which  the  inspec- 
tors had  to  pursue  consisted  in  making  unexpected  raids  upon 
industrial  establishments  in  an  endeavor  to  find  children  working 
contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  law,  or  other  transgressions  of  the 
factory  acts.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  that  such  methods  of  inspec- 
tion created  great  animosity  on  the  part  of  employers,  and  that  they 
regarded  the  inspectors  as  spies,  informers,  detectives,  etc.,  and 
adopted  concerted  means  by  which  the  presence  of  an  inspector 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  541 

in  a  town  became  at  once  known  and  his  whereabouts  signaled 
throughout  the  industrial  community. 

The  detective  function  of  factory  inspectors  still  comprises 
a  large  part  of  the  work  of  industrial  irispect:on  in  this  country  as 
well  as  in  others.  Germany  is  practically  the  only  country  where  a 
firm  stand  was  made  by  the  government  from  the  beginning,  where 
the  factory  inspector's  function  was  strictly  limited  to  preventive 
work  and  all  detection  or  prosecution  left  to  the  police  authorities. 
The  same  tendency,  although  not  so  pronounced,  became  the  basic 
principle  of  English  factory  inspection. 

The  methods  which  are  gradually  superseding  the  detective 
functions  consist  in  inspection  by  the  factory  officials  for  the  pur- 
pose of  determining  what  is  best  to  be  done  in  order  to  prevent 
accidents  and  disease,  in  conferences  with  owners,  manufacturers 
and  superintendents  of  industrial  plants  as  to  the  best  means  of  pre- 
venting the  risks  and  dangers  of  trades  and  promoting  the  well- 
being  of  the  workers. 

There  is  still  need,  however,  of  both  methods  of  inspection; 
and  factory  inspection  departments  have  not  as  yet  succeeded  in 
inaugurating  a  campaign  of  education  which  would  make  the  first 
method  of  inspection  unnecessary.  In  most  factory  inspection 
bureaus,  therefore,  the  inspectors  give  a  large  part  of  their  time  to 
making  unexpected  visits  to  factories  in  order  to  detect  violations, 
especially  those  relating  to  child  and  women  labor.  Inspectors 
have  also  much  to  do  with  prosecution;  they  act  as  witnesses  and 
assist  with  the  proceedings  against  violators  of  the  law.  The  higher 
class  of  inspectors  usually  strive  to  work  in  an  advisory  capacity, 
to  persuade  manufacturers  to  install  safety  devices  and  appliances 
and  adopt  methods  which  would  lessen  the  dangers  of  certain  indus- 
trial processes. 

Every  inspection  department  is  divided  into  a  number  of  prin- 
cipal districts  which  are  supervised  by  a  higher  official,  who  has 
under  his  jurisdiction  a  number  of  inspectors  of  lower  grade,  each  of 
these  inspectors  being  given  a  smaller  district  or  a  special  function 
in  the  larger  district.  With  the  limited  force  of  inspectors  in  most 
of  the  departments,  only  one  annual  inspection  can  possibly  be  made 
in  every  industrial  plant,  and  in  some  states  even  this  is  impossible 
and  plants  are  not  visited  for  two  or  more  years. 

There  are  as  yet  very  few  inspection  departments  where  a 
complete  record  is  kept  of  every  industrial  establishment  in  a  dis- 
trict, of  every  condition  in  the  establishment  and  a  historical  review 


542  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

of  all  the  violations  found  in  the  establishment.  Inspections  are 
either  made  as  a  routine  matter,  visiting  the  establishments  after 
certain  intervals  which  may  be  a  year  or  longer,  or  are  made  on 
complaints  of  citizens  or  workers,  anonymous  or  signed. 

The  inspector  is  supplied  with  a  number  of  cards  or  blanks 
on  which  are  printed  the  items  which  he  must  inspect  in  each  part 
of  the  factory  and  note  whether  there  are  any  violations  of  the  law. 
In  most  states  the  law  compels  owners  to  post  an  extract  of  the  labor 
and  factory  acts  in  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  factory;  some  states 
require  the  factory  inspector  to  stamp  this  notice  at  every  visit. 

The  routine  method  of  inspection  is  as  follows:  The  inspector 
usually  presents  himself  at  the  office  of  an  establishment,  announces 
his  authority,  shows  his  credentials,  if  required,  asks  a  number  of 
questions  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  plant,  the  number  of  employes, 
etc.,  looks  for  the  notices  posted  on  the  walls  and  examines  the 
books  in  which  an  account  is  kept  of  the  employes  under  a  certain 
age,  and  of  such  accidents  as  may  have  occurred  since  his  last  inspec- 
tion. He  then  proceeds  to  go  through  the  plant,  either  by  himself 
or  accompanied  by  a  representative  of  the  manufacturer,  and  notices 
the  sanitary  condition  of  the  plant,  the  state  of  the  walls,  ceilings 
and  floors,  the  adequacy  of  light  and  illumination,  the  methods  of 
ventilation,  the  condition  and  adequacy  of  the  sanitary  fixtures  in 
the  plant.  The  inspector  also  notes  the  number  of  women  and  chil- 
dren employed  in  the  establishment,  the  presence  of  any  children 
who  seem  to  be  under  age,  and  inquires  about  the  number  of  hours 
of  work  during  the  day  and  the  length  of  the  midday  pause  as  well 
as  the  beginning  and  closing  hours  of  work.  While  on  his  tour 
of  inspection,  the  inspector  observes  the  mechanical  appliances  and 
machines  in  the  plant  and  makes  a  note  of  such  machines  or  parts 
of  machines  which  are,  according  to  his  opinion,  not  properly  safe- 
guarded, and  of  such  processes  which  may  in  his  opinion  be  dan- 
gerous to  the  life  or  health  of  the  employes. 

The  inspector  is  usually  not  permitted  by  his  superiors  to  enter 
into  lengthy  conversations  with  employers  or  to  tell  employers 
the  result  of  his  inspection.  He  has  to  send  to  the  office  a  detailed 
and  complete  report  on  each  of  his  inspections,  and  if  the  inspector 
reports  a  violation  of  the  law,  the  matter  is  taken  up  for  further 
procedure  by  the  office. 

Inspectors  are  not  usually  required  to  make  any  special  tests 
of  light,  illumination  or  ventilation,  as  these  tests  require  special 
training  and  knowledge  which  is  not  possessed  by  the  ordinary 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  543 

inspector.  If  photometric  inspections  are  to  be  made  of  light  and 
illumination,  or  air  tests  for  carbon  dioxide,  carbon  monoxide,  dust, 
etc.,  these  are  usually  made  by  specially  trained  experts,  a  few 
of  whom  may  be  found  in  some  of  the  larger  states. 

There  are  as  yet  no  scientific  standards  set  for  methods  of 
factory  inspection  either  in  Europe  or  in  the  United  States.  The 
general  routine  method  of  factory  inspection  is  about  the  same  in  all 
countries.  I  found  very  little  difference  in  the  methods  used  in 
the  various  European  countries  visited.  The  methods  of  taking 
notes  and  of  keeping  records  differ  very  much;  and  it  is  my  impres- 
sion as  far  as  methods  of  recording  inspections  are  concerned,  that 
those  used  in  states  like  New  York,  Wisconsin  and  others  are  much 
superior  to  those  employed  by  the  factory  inspection  departments 
of  some  European  countries. 


CIVIL  SERVICE  EXAMINATIONS   FOR  FACTORY  INSPECTORS 
IN  ENGLAND,  FRANCE,  GERMANY  AND  NEW  YORK  STATE.] 

v  ENGLAND. 

Candidates  for  nomination  for  factory  inspectors  in  England  make  a  formal 
application  and  present  it  with  any  testimonials  which  they  wish  to  submit 
•to  the  Private  Secretary  of  the  Home  Office  in  London.  In  this  application 
they  give  their  names,  addresses,  date  and  year  of  birth,  education,  and  par- 
ticulars as  to  their  past  and  present  employment.  The  applicants  are  then 
personally  interviewed  by  the  chief  inspectors  or  by  the  superintending  inspectors, 
and  sometimes  by  the  district  inspectors;  and  whenever  a  vacancy  occurs 
selection  is  made  from  the  list  of  applicants. 

The  nominations  are  never  given  except  when  an  examination  to  fill  a  vacancy 
is  about  to  be  held.  Only  a  very  limited  number  of  applicants,  namely,  "  those 
who  appear  after  careful  consideration  and  inquiry,  to  be  the  best  qualified 
in  every  way  for  the  position,  can  be  given  the  opportunity  to  compete." 
Nominated  candidates  receive  not  more  than  one  month's  notice  of  the  examina- 
tion. The  prescribed  age  for  candidates  at  the  time  of  examination  is  between 
twenty-two  and  thirty  years,  but  an  extension  up  to  thirty-eight  is  allowed 
in  the  case  of  a  candidate  who  (a)  for  the  last  seven  years  has  been  occupied 
in  one  or  more  of  the  following  capacities  in  a  factory  or  workshop  or  in  engineer- 
ing work,  viz.,  master,  manager,  foreman,  workman,  or  apprentice,  and  has 
thereby  acquired  practical  acquaintance  with  industrial  relations  and  conditions; 
or  (6)  has  served  as  a  factory  inspector's  assistant,  with  a  certificate  of  the 
Civil  Service  Commission  from  a  time  when  he  was  under  thirty.  The  candidate 
must  pay  a  fee  of  three  pounds  for  the  examination. 

The  following  is  a  syllabus  of  the  obligatory  as  well  as  optional  subjects  for 
the  civil  service  examination: 


544  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

SUBJECTS  FOR  EXAMINATION 
A.     OBLIGATORY  SUBJECTS 

1.  English  Composition. 

2.  Arithmetic. 

B.    OPTIONAL  SUBJECTS 

3.  English  Literature. 

4.  English  History. 

5.  General  Modern  History. 

6.  French  or  German  or  Italian. 

7.  Mathematics. 

8.  Economics  (including  knowledge  of  the  history  of  industry  in  modern 
times). 

9.  Chemistry. 

10.  Physics,  including  mechanics. 

11.  Practical  Mechanics  and  Industrial  Machinery. 

NOTE.  Four  only  of  the  optional  subjects  may  be  offered.  Any  candidate 
who  does  not  satisfy  the  Civil  Service  Commissioners  in  three  of  them  will  be 
thereby  disqualified. 

SYLLABUS 
A.     OBLIGATORY  SUBJECTS 

1.  English  Composition.     Candidates  will  be  tested  by  precise  writing  as 
well  as  by  an  essay. 

2.  Arithmetic.     First  four  rules,  simple  and  compound,   including  English 
and  metrical  weights  and  measures,  reduction,  vulgar  fractions  and  decimals 
(excluding  recurring  decimals),  and  the  preparation  of  percentage  and  other 
tabular  summaries. 


B.  OPTIONAL  SUBJECTS 

3.  English  Literature.     From  Shakespeare  to  the 
death  of  Wordsworth. 

4.  English  History.     1066  to  1880. 

5.  General  Modern  History.     1519  to  1871. 


In  the  papers  set  upon 
each  of  these  subjects  a 
liberal  choice  of  questions 
will  be  allowed. 


6.  French,    German   or   Italian.     Translation,    Composition,    Conversation. 

7.  Mathematics.     Algebra,  Geometry,  Trigonometry. 

8.  Economics  (including  knowledge  of  the  History  of  Industry  in  modern  times). 
The  economics  of  industry  as  treated  in  the  ordinary  text-books.     The  history 
of  the  chief  forms  of  modern  industry,  and  the  outlines  of  legislation  affecting 
the  working  classes  in  the  last  two  centuries,  with  especial  reference  to  the 
United  Kingdom. 

9.  Chemistry  (chiefly  inorganic).     In  this  subject  there  will  be  (1)  a  written 
paper,  and  (2)  an  oral  and  practical  examination.     The  latter  will  include,  among 
other  things,  such  qualitative  and  quantitative  analysis  as  has  a  bearing  upon 
the  administration  of  the  Factory  Act  (e.g.,  the  detection  and  estimation  of  lead, 
arsenic,  mercury,  and  other  poisonous  metals  used  in  manufactures,  and  the 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  545 

detection  and  estimation  of  carbonic  acid,  carbonic  oxide,  nitrous  fumes,  and 
other  gas,  vapors,  and  impurities  in  air,  etc.). 

10.  Physics  (including  Mechanics).     The  fundamental  principles  of  mechanics; 
heat;  light,  electricity  and  magnetism,  treated  from  the  experimental  standpoint. 
In  this  subject  there  will  be  (1)  a  written  paper  and  (2)  a  practical  examination. 

11.  Practical     Mechanics    (including   Mechanical   Drawing}.       In    this   sub- 
ject there  will  be  (1)  a  written  examination  including  (a)  an  elementary,  (6) 
an  advanced  paper.     Candidates  who  take  this  subject  must  pass  in  the  former, 
although  more  weight  in  the  competition  will  be  attached  to  the  latter.     There 
will  also  be  (2)  an  oral  and    practical  examination.      The  latter  will  include, 
among  other  things,  questions  upon  the  construction  of  machinery. 

The  knowledge  of  languages,  especially  French  and  German,  is  very  advanta- 
geous for  the  candidates  and  is  practically  required  for  the  examination.  The 
examination  usually  takes  place  in  London  where  the  candidates  are  required 
to  appear.  The  examination  lasts  about  five  days,  an  examination  lately  being 
held  on  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday  of  the  week, 
each  day  from  10  A.M.  to  about  5  P.M.,  with  an  interval  for  lunch. 

The  examination  is  not  only  written,  but  also  oral.  Oral  tests  are  given  in 
French,  advanced  mechanics,  chemistry,  and  physics.  The  rating  is  not  only 
on  the  answers  to  questions,  but  also  on  the  general  appearance  of  the  candidate. 
Such  tests  may  last  about  an  hour. 

FRANCE. 

All  male  and  female  inspectors  are  recruited  by  competitive  examination. 
The  division  inspectors  are  chosen  from  the  departmental  inspectors  of  the 
first  and  second  classes. 

(1)  AGE  LIMIT.     The  applicants  for  positions  of  inspectors  must  be  at  least 
twenty-six  years  of  age,  and  not_older  than  thirty-five  years.     No  exception 
is  made  to  the  age  limit. 

(2)  PHYSICAL  EXAMINATION.     Candidates  must  undergo  a  physical  examina- 
tion by  a  physician  designated  by  the  Minister  of  Labor.     A  candidate  may  be 
accepted  as  a  labor  inspector  who  has  been  exempted  from  military  service. 
The  physical  examination  is  made  only  after  the  candidate  passes  his  written 
tests. 

(3)  Either   diplomas   or   certificates   showing     the   candidate's    knowledge 
of  French. 

(4)  A  certificate  of  good  character. 

(5)  A  certificate  that  the  candidate  performed  military  service  or  has  been 
exempted  from  same,  with  the  statement  of  the  causes  for  such  exemption. 

(6)  A  note  signed  by  the  candidate  giving    his  autobiography,  the  place 
where  he  lives,  with  the  changes  of  residence,  the  nature  of  his  previous  occupa- 
tions, and  an  indication  of  the  establishments  in  which  he  has  been  working. 

(7)  Such  diplomas  or  certificates  of  universities,  etc.,  as  he  may  possess. 
The  following  is  the  program  of  the  competitive  examination  for  admission 

as  candidate  for  inspector. 

The  examination  is  written  and  oral.  The  written  test  consists  of  the 
following: 

(1)  A  Composition  on  "  Labor  Laws.1'  The  candidate  must  show  knowledge 
of  the  various  laws  applying  to  labor  and  inspection  of  labor  as  well  as  all  decrees, 


546  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

ministerial  or  otherwise  relating  to  labor  inspection  and  labor  laws.  The 
candidate  must  also  write  an  essay  on  administrative  law,  on  penal  law.  and  on 
application  of  penalties,  etc.,  on  the  forms  of  protocols  to  be  made  by  inspectors 
of  labor,  on  relations  of  inspectors  to  police  officers,  on  penalties  for  various  crimes, 
derelictions  and  contraventions,  and  on  rules  for  applications  for  authorization. 
He  must  also  have  a  knowledge  of  judicial  procedures,  appeals,  etc. 

(2)  Industrial  Hygiene.     The  examination  on  industrial  hygiene  consists  of 
questions  relating  to  the  following:    air  and  ventilation  of  workshops;    heat- 
ing of  workshops;   lighting  and  cleaning  of  workshops;  plumbing;  water  supply; 
installation  of  various  sanitary  appliances;    the  dangers  and  removal  of  dust, 
certain  gases,  fumes  and  irritants;    intoxicant  and  poisonous  materials,  infec- 
tious materials;    labor  in  extreme  temperatures;    humidity;    compressed  air; 
electricity,  fatigue,  and  accidents. 

(3)  The  examination  in  electricity  and  mechanics  consists  in  questions  on  the 
following  topics:    general  mechanics;    principles  of  inertia;    gravitation,  etc.; 
applied  mechanics;  transmission  of  movements;  resistance  of  materials;  motors; 
hydraulic;   steam,  etc.;    labor  machines;    principles  of  machinery  and  textiles; 
other  uses  of  machines;  engines  of  leverage;  pumps,  ventilators,  etc. 

The  examination  in  electricity  covers  the  subject,  theoretical  as  well  as  prac- 
tical. In  the  subject  of  prevention  of  accidents  the  examination  consists  of 
practical  tests  on  machines,  motors,  and  mechanisms. 

The  written  examination  tests  the  candidate's  knowledge  of  mathematics, 
algebra,  geometry,  and  trigonometry. 

All  the  tests  must  be  finished  within  one  day;  three  hours  are  given  for  the 
composition  on  law  and  one  and  one-half  hours  each  for  the  other  two  com- 
positions. 

The  oral  tests  are  given  only  after  three  or  four  weeks  after  the  written 
examinations,  when  the  examiners  have  had  time  to  pass  upon  the  written  tests. 
No  candidate  who  has  not  passed  the  written  tests  is  allowed  to  participate 
in  the  $ral  examination.  The  oral  examination  is  also  made  in  Paris. 

The  oral  test  consists  of  questions  covering  the  three  subjects  already  indi- 
cated in  the  written  examination.  The  candidate  must  give  proof  that  he 
possesses  knowledge  of  the  Penal  Code  and  a  general  knowledge  of  the  labor 
laws.  Questions  are  also  given  as  to  wages,  trades,  industries,  legal  proceedings, 
trials,  etc.. 

Candidates  are  generally  questioned  by  two  examiners  on  each  subject. 
Besides  the  general  oral  tests,  a  special  practical  test  is  also  given.  These  prac- 
tical tests  are  two  in  number;  one  is  obligatory,  and  one  is  optional.  The  first 
which  bears  on  hygiene  and  applied  mechanics  is  taken  in  the  National  Con- 
servatory of  Arts  and  Trades.  There  each  candidate  is  placed  before  an 
apparatus;  he  must  give  a  description  of  the  different  means  of  ventilation, 
the  proper  means  of  ventilation,  the  drawing  off  of  smoke,  gases,  vapors,  etc. 
He  is  also  asked  to  explain  the  working  of  motors,  machines,  tools,  and  of  any 
of  the  mechanisms  indicated  by  the  examiners.  He  must  not  only  give  a 
description  of  the  apparata,  but  also  their  use  and  their  provision  against 
accidents. 

The  optional  test  is  taken  in  a  factory  or  industrial  establishment  in  which 
the  candidate  claims  special  efficiency.  The  object  of  this  test  is  to  permit 
those  who  have  a  practical  knowledge  of  their  trade  to  get  proper  credit  for  their 


FACTOEY  INSPECTION  547 

work.  This  test  was  made  especially  for  those  candidates  who  have  had  con- 
siderable factory  experience,  and  who  therefore  are  given  a  chance  to  prove 
their  proficiency  in  industrial  work.  They  are  given  credit  which  may  counter- 
balance any  deficiencies  in  other  tests  in  the  examination.  The  jury  having 
charge  of  the  examination  may  also  give  a  mark  for  what  is  called  "  personal 
equation."  This  mark  is,  as  the  law  states,  justified  by  the  nature  of  the  powers 
which  are  given  to  labor  inspectors.  The  functions  of  the  inspectors  demand 
considerable  tact,  besides  knowledge,  and  also  certain  moral  and  personal  qualifica- 
tions, which  the  jury  may  take  into  account.  The  previous  experience  of  the 
candidate,  the  inquiries  made  about  his  present  connection,  and  the  general 
impression  which  he  produces  upon  the  examiners  are  all  taken  into  consideration. 

All  the  tests  which  are  required  for  male  inspectors  are  also  required  for 
female  inspectors  except  that  in  their  examination  mechanics  and  electricity 
are  not  included;  nor  does  the  examination  include  a  practical  test  on  industrial 
work.  They  are,  however,  called  to  take  an  examination  in  what  is  called 
"  applied  hygiene." 

The  practical  work  in  the  laboratory  includes  the  handling  of  various  instru- 
ments, such  as  psychrometers,  hygrometers,  anemometers,  the  analysis  of  potable 
waters,  analysis  of  air,  the  tests  for  dust,  etc. 

Successful  candidates  are  appointed  on  probation  and  are  called  "  stagiares." 
They  are  assigned  to  districts  and  have  the  same  powers  as  regular  inspectors. 
They  have  also  the  right  to  traveling  expenses  and  other  indemnities.  The 
male  and  female  inspectors  when  appointed  receive  an  annual  salary  of  2400 
francs.  At  the  expiration  of  the  first  year  they  are  promoted  to  inspectors  of 
the  fifth  class.  The  inspector  stagiares  as  soon  as  appointed  are  installed 
in  their  functions  by, the  chief  prefect  of  the  department,  from  whom  they  take 
the  professional  oath  of  office,  as  prescribed  by  the  law,  which  specially  relates 
to  prohibition  of  revealing  trade  secrets.  This  oath  is  taken  only  once,  upon  enter- 
ing the  service,  and  is  not  repeated  when  an  inspector  is  transferred  from  one 
department  to  another  or  from  one  class  to  another, 

PRUSSIA. 

The  requirements  from  candidates  for  inspectorial  service  in  Prussia  are 
the  following: 

(1)  A  certificate  of  graduation  of  nine  classes  of  gymnasium,  or,  what  is  called 
in  German,  "  Reifenzeugnisz  "  (Certificate  of  Maturity). 

(2)  Proof  of  at  least  three  years'  technical  study  in  a  German  High  School. 

(3)  At  least  one  and  one-half  years  of  study  of  law  and  political  sciences. 
The  above  are  the   absolute  requirements  for  candidates  before  they  are 

allowed  to  compete  for  the  position  of  probationary  inspector. 

If  the  candidate  satisfies  the  above  requirements  then  he  is  subject  (1)  to  two 
examinations,  and  (2)  to  a  period  of  probationary  work  in  the  Industrial  Inspec- 
tion Department.  The  two  examinations  are  respectively  at  the  beginning  and 
end  of  his  probationary  term  of  service. 

The  first  examination  may  not  be  required  if  candidate  possesses  the  follow- 
ing diplomas:  (a)  diploma  of  qualification  from  a  state  construction  master 
in  the  construction  of  machinery;  (6)  diploma  of  a  mining  engineer  or  technical 
engineer  certifying  that  candidate  is  a  graduate  of  a  mining  academy  or  other 


548  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

Prussian  technical  high  school;  (c)  a  doctor's  degree  at  a  Pmssian  University 
when  chemistry  was  the  principal  subject  taken  in  examination;  (d)  a  diploma 
of  chemist  at  a  Prussian  High  School. 

After  the  candidate  is  selected  he  is  assigned  to  a  district  inspection  office 
and  begins  his  one  and  a  half  years'  probationary  period  of  service. 

During  the  probationary  service  a  candidate,  or,  as  he  is  officially  called, 
industrial  "  referendar,"  is  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  an  industrial 
assessor  or  inspector,  who  acts  as  his  preceptor,  and  under  whose  direction  the 
candidate  is  pursuing  his  studies  and  work.  The  service  consists  first  in  an 
assignment  to  the  keeping  of  the  day-books  and  other  registers  in  the  office,  as 
well  as  assisting  in  the  correspondence  with  the  various  officials  and  with  the 
employers,  etc.  The  general  plan  of  the  preparation  of  the  referendar  is  under 
the  supervision  of  the  State  and  Industrial  Councilor,  who  reports  to  the  State 
President  of  the  Circuit. 

During  the  second  term  of  probationary  service  the  referendar  is  taken  by 
his  preceptor  to  various  industrial  establishments  and  shown  the  methods  of 
work  and  inspection;  he  is  also  shown  different  industrial  conditions.  The 
preceptor  is  instructed  by  the  rules  to  frequently  confer  with  the  referendar 
upon  various  technical  questions,  to  require  him  to  make  sketches  of  machines 
and  apparata,  and  in  general  to  convince  himself  of  the  progress  in  knowledge 
and  experience  on  the  part  of  the  referendar. 

During  the  last  three  months  of  his  probationary  period  the  referendar  may 
be  appointed  as  assistant  to  the  inspection  bureau,  in  order  to  learn  the  routine 
of  work  of  inspection  in  its  relation  with  the  government.  He  must  participate 
in  the  conferences  of  the  district  government  and  when  necessary  prepare  reports 
before  these  conferences. 

During  all  this  period  the  referendar  does  not  receive  any  salary  whatever, 
except  his  traveling  expenses.  If  the  referendar  is  found  to  be  lacking  either 
in  physical  qualities  or  in  the  diligence  or  interest  in  the  service,  then  the  Min- 
ister of  Commerce  and  Industry  may  on  the  report  of  the  government  president 
terminate  his  service. 

At  the  end  of  his  probationary  period  the  industrial  referendar  must  still 
undergo  two  tests.  The  first  is  a  "  great  probationary  work "  (Grosserer 
Probearbeit).  This  consists  of  a  report  upon  a  theme  which  is  given  to  him 
by  the  State  and  Industrial  Councilor,  and  is  based  upon  his  experience  in 
industrial  inspection  in  the  district  where  the  referendar  served  his  probationary 
term.  The  thesis  must  be  written  without  the  assistance  of  outsiders,  and  is 
passed  on  by  the  State  and  Industrial  Councilor.  It  is  then  presented  to  the 
President  of  the  Circuit  government.  Should  the  thesis  prove  unsatisfactory, 
the  industrial  referendar  may  get  an  extension  of  six  months  to  prepare  another 
thesis. 

The  second  main  examination  which  the  referendar  is  subjected  to  at  the 
end  of  his  probationary  period  of  service,  study  and  his  thesis,  is  (1)  oral,  and 
(2)  written. 

The  examination  is  conducted  by  a  board  of  industrial  supervising  officials 
in  Berlin,  appointed  by  the  Minister  of  Commerce  and  Industry. 

The  written  examination  consists  of  questions  (Aufgaben)  on  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Industrial  Code  and  on  political  science  and  administration.  The 
questions  are  given  by  the  chairman  of  the  examining  board;  the  candidate 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  549 

is  given  six  weeks'  time  in  which  to  answer  the  questions.  This  period  may 
be  extended  to  two  months.  At  the  end  of  this  term  the  candidate  must  present 
his  answers,  with  the  assurance  that  he  has  had  no  outside  help  in  their  prepara- 
tion. The  answers  are  presented  to  the  examining  board,  each  member  of  which 
must  note  his  opinion  when  passing  judgment  upon  the  papers.  Consideration 
must  be  given  to  the  scientific  conception,  the  conciseness,  clearness,  grammar, 
logic  and  good  German  in  which  the  work  is  expressed. 

The  oral  examination  consists  of  questions  which  tend  to  show  ability  to 
determine  and  solve  technical  problems  in  practical  service.  Special  attention 
is  paid  to  the  technical  scientific  training  of  the  candidate  and  his  practical 
experience  in  those  branches  which  the  candidate  has  been  taught  during  his 
probationary  service.  The  examination  must  also  determine  in  how  far  the 
candidate  is  conversant  with  the  Constitution  of  the  German  Empire  and  of 
the  Prussian  State,  with  the  Prussian  State  administration,  with  the  industrial 
supervision — its  extent  as  well  as  practical  administration  and  enforcement. 

The  examiners  are  required  to  determine  whether  the  candidate  has  a  thorough 
understanding  of  the  methods  of  safeguarding  machinery,  of  the  principles  of 
construction  and  establishment  of  factories  and  workshops,  methods  of  heat- 
ing, ventilation  and  removal  of  dust.  He  must  also  possess  a  knowledge  of  the 
ordinary  methods  of  prevention  of  accidents,  the  prevention  of  dangers  to  health 
which  are  found  in  various  industries,  and  of  dangers  of  certain  industries  to 
their  immediate  neighborhood.  Of  course,  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Indus- 
trial Code,  as  well  as  of  the  Workmen's  Insurance  Code,  is  absolutely  required. 

The  candidate  must  pay  before  the  application  for  the  second  examination 
a  fee  of  fifty  marks  ($12)  for  the  examination. 

After  the  candidate  has  passed  the  ordeal  described  above,  the  Minister  of 
Commerce  and  Industry  appoints  him  as  industrial  assessor,  and  as  such  he 
is  assigned  to  work  in  an  industrial  district,  in  which  he  usually  remains  about 
two  years.  Every  two  years  or  more  he  is  sent  to  other  districts  with  different 
industrial  conditions,  and,  is  after  a  certain  number  of  years  of  service — which 
is  seldom  less  than  five,  or  may  reach  ten — appointed  as  an  industrial  inspector 
and  given  charge  of  a  district.  Once  a  man  is  appointed  industrial  assessor, 
his  tenure  of  office  is  secure. 

NEW  YORK  STATE. 

The  following  questions  were  given  by  the  New  York  State  Civil  Service 
Commission  as  a  test  for  Supervising  Factory  Inspector,  on  April  20,  1912: 

INSPECTION 

(1)  Give  a  list  of  the  machinery  used  in  the  textile  industry.     Name  the 
elements  of  danger  and  the  best  methods  of  guarding  each  machine. 

(2)  Give  a  list  of  the  machinery  used  in  a  general  machine-shop,  the  elements 
of  danger  from  each  machine,  and  the  best  methods  of  guarding  the  same. 

(3)  Give  a  list  of  machinery  used  in  a  wood-working  establishment.     Name 
the  elements  of  danger,  and  the  best  methods  of  guarding  each  machine. 

(4-5)  One  of  your  duties  will  be  to  give  instructions  to  newly  appointed 
inspectors.  Prepare  a  communication  to  such  an  inspector,  giving  definite 
instructions  relative  to  the  inspection  of  factories,  covering  the  subject  m  the 
following  order: 

(a)  A  factory  inspector's  duties  under  the  law. 

(6)  Employment  and  hours  of  labor  of  children. 


550  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

(c)  Employment  and  hours  of  labor  of  minors  and  women,  and  restric- 

tions thereto. 

(d)  Dangers  incident  to  the  operation  of  machinery,  fire  hazards,  and 
safety  appliances. 

(e)  Sanitation,  and  conveniences  prescribed  by  the  labor  law  for  employes. 
(/)  General  instructions  deemed  best,  if  any. 

(6)  Prepare  a  communication  to  a  newly  appointed  factory  inspector  regard- 
ing his  duties  while  inspecting  tenement  houses. 

(7)  A  factory  inspector  in  your  district  has  made  an  inspection;    notice  of 
changes  as  the  result  thereof  have  been  sent  the  manufacturer;    the  manu- 
facturer appeals;    what  would  be  your  duty  in  the  matter?    State  specifically 
and  fully  the  course  you  should  take.     Assuming  necessary  facts,  make  a  full 
report  on  same  to  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,   including  your  recommen- 
dations. 

(8)  How  may  accidents  in  factories,  wood-working  establishments,  etc.,  be 
minimized,  aside  from  safeguarding  the  machinery?    Has  a  factory  inspector 
any  duty  or  obligation  in  avoiding  accidents,  aside  from  seeing  that  machines 
are  properly  safeguarded?     Discuss  both  questions  fully. 

The  following  examination  for  Deputy  Factory  Inspector  was  given  by  the 
New  York  State  Civil  Service  Commission  on  January  22,  1910: 

LAW 

(1)  Describe   the  organization    of    the    Department    of    Labor.     How  are 
appointments  made  therein?     What  is  the  general  purpose  of  the  State  in  main- 
taining such  a  department? 

(2)  Give  the  functions  of  (a)  the  Bureau  of  Factory  Inspection,  (6)  the  Bureau 
of  Mercantile  Inspection. 

(3)  Give  the  provisions  of  the  labor  law  relating  to  (a)  hours  of  labor,  with 
the  exceptions  thereto,  (6)  wages.     What  is  the  purpose  of  these  provisions? 
What  kind  of  public  employment  isexempted  from  the  application  of  these  restric- 
tions, and  why? 

(4)  What  are  the  provisions  of  the  labor  law  in  relation  to  the  safety  of 
persons  employed  in  the  construction,  repair  or  renovating  of  buildings? 

(5)  Define  the  following  terms  as  used  in  the  labor  law:    (a)  factory,  (6) 
tenant-factory,  (c)  mercantile  establishment. 

(6)  State  concisely  the  provisions  of  the  labor  law  relating  to  the  employ- 
ment of  children  in  (a)  factories,   (6)  mercantile  establishments?    Why  these 
provisions? 

(7)  What  are  the  provisions  of  the  labor  law  relating  to  the  employment  of 
women  in  (a)  factories,  (6)  mercantile  establishments? 

(8)  State  briefly  the  provisions  of  the  labor  law  relating  to  the  safety  of  life 
and  limb  of  factory  employes. 

(9)  What  provisions  are  made  in  the  labor  law  for  the  health  and  comfort 
of  employes  in  (a)  factories,  (6)  mercantile  establishments? 

(10)  What  are  the  powers  of    the  Commissioner  of    Labor  with  reference 
to  unsanitary  conditions  in  (a)  tenant-factories,  (6)  bakeries? 

(11)  What  are  the  powers  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  relative  to  tenement 
houses? 

(12)  What  class  of  employes  are  excluded   from  employment  upon  public 
works  in  this  State?   What  further  provision  is  there  relative  to  preference  in 
employment  upon  such  works? 

(1-2)  A  complaint,  received  by  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  alleging  that 
a  contractor  for  the  erection  of  a  state  armory  is  violating  the  labor  law  by  requir- 
ing his  employes  to  work  ten  hours  a  day,  has  been  referred  to  you  for  investiga- 
jlon-  Prepare  a  report  sustaining  the  complaint,  and  describing  the  facts  in 
detail.  ^  Support  your  report  with  the  sworn  statements  of  two  of  the  con- 
tractor s  workmen  who  have  been  required  to  work  more  than  eight  hours  a 
day. 


FACTORY  INSPECTION  551 

(3)  John  Smith  is  charged  with  employing  children  in  his  factory  after  5 
P.M.     How  would  you  obtain  evidence  against  him  with  a  view  to  his  prosecution? 
What  evidence,  and  how  much  would  you  consider  necessary? 

(4)  What  is  (a)  a  line-shaft,  (6)  a  counter-shaft,  (c)  an  idler  or  loose  pulley, 
and  a  belt-shifter? 

(5)  Supplying  all  necessary  facts,  give  an  outline  of  the  inspection  of  a  machine- 
shop  containing  dangerous  machinery  upon  which  boys  under  sixteen  years  of 
age  are  employed.     Give  in  connection  therewith  such  orders  as  may  be  necessary 
to  remedy  conditions  found  in  violation  of  law. 

(6)  Supplying  necessary  facts,  give  an  outline  of  the  inspection  of  a  knitting- 
mill  employing  a  large  number  of  women  and  children.     Assuming  that  the 
sanitary  requirements  for  the  health  and  comfort  of  employes  have  not  been 
complied  with,  give  orders  to  correct  the  defects  in  accordance  with  the  law. 

(7)  Suppose  on    inspecting  a  paper-box  factory  in  a  tenant-factory  you 
find  that  the  floors  and  toilets  are  in  a  filthy  condition,  that  the  air  in  workrooms 
is  superheated  and  charged  with  unpleasant  odors  and  that  all  windows  are  closed. 
Indicate  the  course  to  be  taken  to  remedy  the  conditions. 

(8)  Describe  in  detail  the  particular  elements  of  danger  of  physical  injury 
in  connection  with  the  operation  of  power-driven  machinery  while  entirely 
devoid  of  safeguards.     Indicate   how  the  danger  may  be  practically  overcome 
without  interference  with  the  utility  of  such  machine.     Name  several  power- 
driven  machines,  describing  the  danger  from  each  and  the  method  of  guarding 
against  accident. 


APPENDIX  I 

A  SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY  FOR  THOSE  WISHING  TO  MAKE 
A  FURTHER   STUDY  OF  SOME  OF  THE  TOPICS   TREATED. 

Rise  and  Development  of  the  Factory  System: 

ASHLEY,  W.  J.:    Introduction  to  English  Economic  History.     New  York, 

1888.     2  Vols. 

BAINES,  EDW.  :  History  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  in  Great  Britain.     London. 
BRENTANO,   LUJO:    History  and  Development  of  Gilds  and  the  Origin  of 

Trade  Unions.     London,  1878. 

BRIZON,    PIERRE:     Histoire   du   Travail  et   des  Travailleurs.     Paris,    1912. 
BUECHER,  KARL:  Industrial  Evolution.     New  York,  1906. 
CLARK,  ALBERT:  The  Effect  of  the  Factory  System. 
COMAN,  KATHERINE:    Industrial  History  of  the  United  States.     New  York, 

1911. 
COOKE-TAYLOR-WHATLEY:    Introduction  to  a  History  of  the  Factory  System. 

1886. 
CUNNINGHAM,  W.  D.:    Industrial  History  of  England.     Cambridge,   1895. 

2  Vols. 

GIBBINS,  H.  DE  B.:  Industry  in  England. 
GUIRARD,  PAUL  :  La  Main  d'CEuvre  Industrielle. 
INNES,  ARTHUR:  England's  Industrial  Development. 
LAMBERT,  Rev.  J.  MALET:  Two  Thousand  Years  of  Gild  Life. 
PORTER:  Progress  of  the  Nation. 

ROGERS,  J.  THEOBOLD:  Six  Centuries  of  Work  and  Wages. 
WING,  CHARLES:  Evils  of  the  Factory  System  Demonstrated  by  Parliamentary 

Evidence.     London,  1837. 

In  addition,  see  reports  of  English  and  American  Governmental  Commis- 
sions and  other  authorities  mentioned  in  the  text. 

Fire  Prevention  and  Fire  Protection: 

FREITAG,  JOSEPH  :  Fire  Prevention  and  Fire  Protection.     1912. 

CROSBY,  FISKE:  Handbook  of  Fire  Protection.     1909. 

McKEON,  P.  J. :  Fire  Prevention.     1912. 

JOHNSON,  JOSEPH:  Report  on  Incendiarism  in  New  York  City.     1912. 

New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission.     First  Report.     1912. 

Vol  I.     Second  Report.     1913.     Vols.  I  and  II. 
FISHER,  WALTER  L.:  The  Fire  Waste. 

553 


554  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

Safety: 

CALDER,  JOHN:  The  Prevention  of  Factory  Accidents.     London,  1899. 
EASTMAN,  CRYSTAL:   Work  Accidents  and  the  Law.     New  York,  1910. 
SCHWEDTMAN,  F.  C.,  and  J.  A.  EMERY:   Accident  Prevention  and  Relief.     An 
investigation  of  the  subject  in  Europe,  with  special  attention  to  England 
and  Germany,  together  with  recommendation  for  action  in  the   United 
States  of  America.     New  York,  1911. 
TOLMAN,  W.  H.:  Safety.     New  York,  1913. 

In  addition,  see  reports  of  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation, 
Bulletins  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor,  Reports  of  State  Commis- 
sions on  Employers'  Liability  mentioned  in  Appendix  II,  and  files  of  special 
journals,  such  as  "  Safety  Engineering." 

Welfare  Work: 

CADBURY,  EDWARD:  Experiments  in  Industrial  Organization.     London,  1914. 
COOK,   E.    WAKE:    Betterment.     Individual,    Social   and   Industrial.     New 

New  York,  1906. 

MEAKIN,  BUDGETT:   Model  Factories  and  Villages.     New  York,  1906. 
SCHOMERUS,  FRIEDRICH:  System  of  Employment  at  the  Karl  Zeiss  Works  at 

Jena. 

TOLMAN,  W.  H. :  Social  Engineering.  A  record  of  things  done  by  American 
Industries  employing  upwards  of  one  and  a  half  millions  of  people.  New 
York,  1909. 

United  States:  Department  of  Labor,  Bulletin  Employers'  Welfare  Work. 
Washington,  1913. 

In  addition,  see  files  of  American  Federationist,  the  latter  for  the  workers' 
point  of  view.  A  good  deal  of  literature  on  the  subject  of  welfare  work  may  be 
found  in  periodicals. 

Dangerous  Trades  and  Diseases  of  Occupations: 

DAMMER:  Arbeiter  Wohlfahrt.     Stuttgart,  1903. 

ALBRECHT:  Handbuch  der  Gewerbe  Hygiene,  etc. 

BROUARDEL:  Hygiene  Industrielle.     Paris,  1908. 

PATISSIER:  Traite  des  Maladies  des  Artisans  et  de  celles  qui  resultent  des 
diverses  professions.  Paris,  1822. 

TURNER,  THACKRAH:  The  Effects  of  the  Principal  Arts,  Trades  and  Profes- 
sions on  Health  and  Longevity.  London,  1832. 

EULENBERG:  Handbuch  der  Gewerbe  Hygiene.     Berlin,  1876. 

HIRT:  Die  Krankheiten  der  Arbeiter.     Leipzig,  1871. 

ARLIDGE:  The  Diseases  of  Occupations.     London,  1892. 

THOMAS  OLIVER:  Dangerous  Trades.     London,  1902. 

THOMAS  OLIVER:  Disease  of  Occupations.     London,  1910. 

WEYL:  Gewerbe  Hygiene:    8th  Vol.  of  the  Handbuch  der  Hygiene. 

HALFORT:  Entstehung,  Verlauf  und  Behandlung  der  Krankheiten  der  Kiinstler 

und  Gewerbetreibender.     Berlin,  1845. 
.  LEGGEANDGOADBY:  Lead  Poisoning.     New  York,  1912. 

LAYET  :  Hygiene  des  Professions  et  des  Industries.     Paris,  1875. 

RAMBOUSEK,  I.:  Industrial  Poisoning.     London,  1913. 

THOMPSON,  W.  G.:  The  Occupational  Diseases,    New  York,  1914, 


APPENDIX  II 

A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  THE  MORE  IMPORTANT  INVESTIGA- 
TIONS INTO  WORKING  CONDITIONS  AUTHORIZED  BY 
THE  FEDERAL  AND  STATE  LEGISLATURES. 

(This  list  covers  only  investigations  relating  to  factory  conditions:  such  as 
industrial  accidents,  occupational  diseases,  minimum  wage,  work  of  women  and 
children,  factory  inspection  and  fire  protection.  It  does  not  include  investigations 
made  of  immigration,  employment  bureaus,  work  in  mines  or  on  railroads,  trade 
disputes,  arbitration,  etc.) 

United  States: 

1900  Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.     Washington.     17  Vols. 

The    report    covers    immigration,    prison    labor,    industrial    disputes, 

arbitration,  conditions  and  growth  of  manufactures  and  commerce, 

labor  legislation,  etc.     Vols.  7  and  14  are  the  only  ones  dealing  with 

factory  conditions. 

1909  Report  on  the  condition  of  women  and  child  wage  earners  in  the  U.  S. 

Washington.     19  vols. 

Report  of  investigation  into  conditions  in  the  textile,  glass,  ready  made 
clothing,  cotton,  men's  ready-made  clothing,  metal  trades  and 
laundries,  etc. 

Connecticut: 

1913  Report  of  the  Commission  to  Investigate  the  conditions  of  wage-earning 

women  and  minors.     Hartford,  1913,  297  p. 

Contains  report  and  recommendations  of  commission  and  account  of 
an  investigation  covering  health,  sanitation,  accidents,  wages  and 
hours  in  relation  to  child  and  women  workers  in  certain  typical  indus- 
tries., viz,  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton,  silk,  corsets,  metal  and  rubber 
articles,  and  the  conditions  of  women  in  alteration  rooms  in  cloak 
and  suit  departments  of  department  stores. 

Illinois : 

1911  Report  of  Commission  on  Occupational   Diseases.     Springfield.     13  pi. 

219  p. 

Contains  report  and  recommendations  of  commission  and  an  account 
of  original  and  thorough  investigations  into  lead,  brass,  zinc,  carbon 
monoxide  and  compressed  air  diseases,  occupational  deafness,  etc., 
in  the  State  of  Illinois. 

555 


556  THE  MODEEN  FACTORY 

1911  Report  of  Employers'  Liability  Commission.    Springfield.     249  p. 
Contains  statistics  of  accidents  in  coal  mining  and  on  steam  and  electric 

railways,  their  causes  and  economic  results  and  treatment  by  the  courts. 

Iowa: 

1912  Report  of  Employers'  Liability  Commission.     Des  Moines.     250  p.  3  pts. 
Part  I  contains  some  account  of  industrial  accidents  in  Iowa  and  Part 

II  a  report  of  the  evidence  given  at  the  public  hearings. 

Kentucky : 

1911  Report  of  Commission  to  Investigate  the  Condition  of  Working  Women 

in  Kentucky.     Louisville.     55  p. 

Contains  report  of  Commission  with  recommendations  and  account 
of  three  months'  investigation  into  186  industrial  establishments  in 
Kentucky. 

Massachusetts: 

1866  Report  of  Special  Commission  on  Hours  of  Labor  and  Conditions  and 

Prospects  of  Industrial  Classes.     Boston.     66  p. 

The  first  labor  commission  in  the  United  States  to  make  a  special  report. 
The  report  is  based  on  replies  received  to  1000  circulars  sent  oat  by 
the  commission,  and  on  evidence  given  at  eight  public  hearings  held 
chiefly  in  the  evening  to  accommodate  workingmen.  Contains 
interesting  material  on  child  labor,  hours  of  labor  and  non-enforce- 
ment of  labor  laws. 

1911  Report  of  Commission  to  Investigate  the  Inspection  of  Factories,  Work- 
shops, Mercantile  Establishments  and  other  Buildings.  Boston. 
112  p. 

Contains  investigation  of  methods  of  industrial  inspection  in  Mass. 
Valuable  criticisms,  conclusions  and  recommendations. 

1911  Report  of  the  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards.     Boston.     326  p. 
Contains  account  of    investigation    into  four  representative  women's 

trades,  viz.,  department  stores,  candy  factories,  laundries,  and  cotton 
mills,  and  statistics  based  on  6900  wage  schedules,  4672  personal  and 
domestic  reports.  91  establishmest  in  18  localities  were  investigated. 

1912  Report   of   Commission    on   Compensation    for    Industrial    Accidents. 

Boston.     322  p. 
Contains  statistics  of  one  year's  industrial  accidents  in  Massachusetts. 

Michigan : 

1911  Report  of  Employers'  Liability  and  Workmen's  Compensation  Com- 

mission.     Lansing.     152  p. 

Contains  statistics  of  industrial  accidents,  causes,  results,  in  the  State 
of  Michigan. 

New  Jersey : 

1913  Report  by  the  Employers'  Liability  Commission  of  the  State  of  New 

Jersey.     Trenton.     21  p. 


APPENDIX  557 

Statistics  gathered  by  commission  cover  accidents,  court  records  and 
compensation  for  accidents  occurring  during  one  year  in  the  State  of 
New  Jersey. 

New  York: 

1910  Report  by  the  Commission  to  Inquire  into  the  Question  of  Employers' 

Liability  and  other  Matters.     Albany.     First  report.  271  p. 

1911  (The  same). 

Second  report.     Causes  and  prevention  of  industrial  accidents.     116  p. 

Third  report.     Unemployment  and  lack  of  farm  labor.     245  p. 

Fourth  report.  Review  of  the  decision  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  March 
24,  1911,  declaring  the  Compulsory  Compensation  Act  of  1910  uncon- 
stitutional. 

1912  Preliminary  report  of  the  Factory  Investigating  Commission.     Vol.  1. 

837  p. 

Contains  account  of  investigation  made  into  the  fire  hazard  in  factories 
in  New  York  State,  general  sanitary  investigation,  women's  trades, 
lead  poisoning  in  New  York  City,  tenement  house  manufacture, 
v.ork  in  bakeries  and  foundries. 

Vol.  II.     986  p.     Evidence  taken  at  public  hearings  of  commission. 

Vol.  III.     1986  p.     Evidence  continued. 

1913  Second  Report  of  the  Factory  Investigating  Commission. 

Vol.  I.  395  p.  Covers  report  of  Commission  on  administration  law, 
the  fire  problem,  manufacturing  in  tenements,  canneries,  child  labor, 
night  work  of  women  in  factories,  bakeries,  general  sanitary  condi- 
tions, accident  prevention,  dangerous  trades,  foundries,  employment 
of  women  and  children  in  mercantile  establishments. 

Vol.  II.  1340  p.  Contains  reports  of  original  investigations  and  statis- 
tics on  above  topics. 

Ohio: 

1910  Report  by  the  Commission  to  inquire  in  the  question  of  Employers' 

Liability  and  other  matters.     Columbus. 
Part  I.     404  p. 
Part  II.     444  p. 
Part  III.     37  p. 

Part  I  contains  report  of  special  investigation  into  economic  effects 
of  accidents  to  married  men  resulting  in  partial  or  total  disablement 
or  death  in  industrial  occupations  in  Ohio. 
Part  II  contains  report  of  evidence  taken  at  public  hearings. 
Part  II  contains  text  of  act  proposed. 

Pennsylvania : 

1838  Report  of  Select  Committee  appointed  to  visit  Cotton  and  other  Factories 

to  Inquire  into  System  of  labor,  particularly  Employment  of  Children. 

This  report,  though  brief,  is  interesting,  as  the  Committee  seems  to  have 

been  the  earliest  appointed  to  investigate  child  labor  in  America. 

1912  Report  of  Industrial  Accidents  Commission.     Harrisburg.     53  p. 

Report  based  on  data  gathered  by  the  department  of  factory  inspection. 


558  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  THE  MORE  IMPORTANT  DEPARTMEN- 
TAL COMMITTEES  AND  REPORTS  IN  ENGLAND  DUR- 
ING THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

1816  Report  of  Committee  appointed  to  Enquire  into  the  State  of  the  Children 

Employed  in  Manufactories. 

1831  Report  of  Select  Committee  on  Factory  Children's  Labour. 
1833  First  Report  of  Commissioners  on  Employment  of  Children  in  Factories. 

Second  Report. 
1843  Supplementary  Report  of  Commissioners  on  the  Employment  of  Children 

in  Factories. 
1840  Reports  from  Select  Committee  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  operation 

of  the  Act  for  the  Regulation  of  Mills  and  Factories. 

1843  Children's  Employment  Commission:    Second  Report,  Trade  and  Manu- 
factures. 
1857  Report  to  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  Bleach  and 

Dye  Works. 
1861  Report  of  Commission  on  the  state  of  Children  employed  in  Lace  the 

Manufacture. 
Reports  of  Commissioners  on  Employment  of  Children  and  Young  Persons 

in  Trades  and  Manufactures  not  already  regulated  by  law,  viz.,     Six 

Reports,  1863-1868. 
1876  Report  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  Working  of 

the  Factory  and  Workshops  Acts,  with  a  view  to  their  consolidation  and 

amendment. 
1882  Report   of  Alexander    Redgrave,   H.   M.  Chief   Inspector   of   Factories, 

upon  precautions  which  can  be  enforced  under  the  Factory  Act,  and  to 

the  need  of  further  powers  for  the  Protection  of  Persons  employed 

in  White  Lead  Works. 
1888  Reports  from  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  Sweating 

System. 

1893  Reports  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Labour. 

1893  Report  from  the  Departmental  Committee  on  the  various  Lead  Indus- 
tries; with  Recommendations  and  Suggestions. 

1896  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  appointed  to  inquire  into  and 

report  upon  certain  miscellaneous  Dangerous  Trades. 

1897  Second  Report  on  certain  Dangerous  Trades. 


APPENDIX  III 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THE  ORGANIZATION  AND   EXECUTION 
OF  EXIT  DRILLS. 

Organization  and  Duties.  All  factory  exit  drills  should  be  subject  to 
the  diiection  of  a  supervisory  organization  constituted  as  follows:  chief 
engineer  of  exit  drill,  floor  chiefs,  room  captains,  stairway  guards,  searchers  and 
inspectors. 

Chief  Engineer  of  Exit  Drill.  Should  be  someone  whose  position  would 
command  respect  and  insure  compliance  with  all  orders  and  instructions  relating 
to  the  drills. 

He  will  have  general  charge  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  exit  drills,  practice 
maneuvers  and  organization,  and  will  designate  all  persons  to  fill  the  positions 
above  mentioned.  He  will  fix  the  time  for  making  drills  and  rigidly  enforce 
measures  of  discipline  for  failure  on  the  part  of  any  employe  fully  to  observe 
all  the  rules  and  requirements;  by  personal  inspection  he  should  see  that  over- 
crowding in  workrooms,  or  elsewhere,  is  prevented,  and  that  sufficient  space 
is  given  to  aisles  and  passageways  to  permit  quick  access  to  all  of  the  exits. 

Floor  Chiefs.  *  Care  should  be  exercised  in  the  selection  of  these  men  or 
women,  as  upon  them  largely  depend  the  efficiency  and  success  of  the  drills. 
Where  department  foremen  (or  women)  or  factory  superintendents  possess  the 
requisite  qualifications  their  selection  is  to  be  preferred.  It  is  important,  how- 
ever, that  they  have  the  trust  and  confidence  of  their  employes  generally, 
with  a  fair  degree  of  self-possession  and  capability  of  speaking  the  language 
of  the  operatives. 

The  floor  chief  shall  have  immediate  charge  of  all  employes  or  operatives 
employed  on  his  floor  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  exit  drills.  He  shall  be  held 
responsible  for  the  enforcement  of  all  rules  and  will  report  to  the  chief  engineer 
any  employe  who  willfully  neglects  their  proper  observance. 

He  shall  see  that  each  movement  corresponding  to  the  alarm  signal  is 
promptly  and  properly  executed  and  shall  personally  supervise  the  sounding 
of  the  general  building  alarm  on  his  floor.  He  shall  be  further  responsible 
for  the  condition  of  all  aisles  and  passageways,  and  will  see  that  chairs,  benches 
and  stock  are  promptly  removed  to  insure  unobstructed  passageways. 

When,  by  pre-arrangement  in  drill  practice  or  as  a  result  of  actual  fire, 
it  may  be  necessary  to  depart  from  the  regular  instructions  as  regards  selection 
and  use  of  exits,  such  change  will  be  at  the  sole  direction  of  the  floor  chief. 

Room  Captains.  Whenever  floors  are  subdivided  into  two  or  more 
rooms  the  floor  chief  will  be  assisted  by  the  room  captains.  For  floors  of  large 
area,  the  floor  captains  should  designate  a  supervisor  for  every  fifty  employes, 
to  assist  in  maintaining  the  necessary  control  and  discipline.  For  these  latter 

559 


560  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

positions,  it  may  frequently  be  found  desirable  to  make  selections  from  the 
forewomen. 

Room  captains  should  be  chosen  from  those  highest  in  authority,  preferably 
a  foreman  or  work  boss.  The  same  general  care  in  their  selection  should  be 
exercised  as  indicated  for  the  floor  chiefs. 

They  should  perform  the  same  general  duties  in  their  respective  rooms  as 
are  prescribed  for  the  floor  chief,  subject  to  the  latter's  direction  and  supervision, 
excepting  that  they  shall  have  no  authority  to  change  the  assignment  of  exits, 
nor  sound  the  general  building  alarm  unless  under  direction  of  the  floor  chief. 

Stairway  Guards.  For  these  positions  men  are  to  be  preferred;  they 
should  be  strong  and  alert,  capable  of  acting  quickly  in  emergencies.  Two 
men  selected  from  each  floor  should  be  assigned  to  each  exit  or  stairway. 

Guards  are  to  be  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  floor  chief  or  room  captains, 
and  shall  see  that  the  march  from  the  rooms  and  in  descending  the  stairway 
is  orderly  and  without  crowding  and  at  uniform  speed,  with  careful  observance 
of  spacing  between  files.  They  shall  be  especially  watchful  of  persons  stumbling 
or  falling  to  prevent  trampling,  and  no  conditions  should  be  allowed  which 
require  a  halt  after  the  exit  march  has  started. 

Guards  shall  be  stationed  as  follows:  One  guard  on  the  room  side  of  the 
door  leading  from  the  room,  who  shall  see  that  the  door  is  opened  promptly 
after  the  first  signal  and  is  kept  open  until  all  the  occupants  have  left  the  room 
and  then  that  it  be  closed,  and  one  guard  on  landing  midway  on  staircase 
descending  to  the  next  floor  below.  Where  stair  exits  have  sharp  bends  or 
are  poorly  lighted,  additional  guards  should  be  provided  as  required.  All 
the  foregoing  officers  should  have  a  first  and  second  assistant  to  help  in  the 
general  work  and  to  take  charge,  by  seniority,  in  case  of  the  absence  of  the 
officer. 

Searchers.  There  should  be  at  least  one  man  and  one  woman  searcher 
on  each  floor  with  alternates.  They  should  be  cool-headed  and  strong. 

Searchers  should  immediately  after  the  signal  visit  the  toilet  rooms  and  any 
room  in  which  there  may  be  occupants  who  cannot  hear  the  signal.  They  must 
look  out  for  any  people  who  may  become  hysterical  and  faint. 

Inspectors.  An  inspector  selected  from  among  the  employes  should  be 
appointed  to  examine  each  morning  the  condition  of  all  stairways,  fire  escapes 
and  roof  exits,  if  any,  and  to  report  immediately  to  the  chief  of  exit  drill  any 
obstruction  found  thereon  or  any  other  unusual  condition.  In  large  establish- 
ments where  many  are  employed,  or  where  the  public  is  present,  such  as  in 
department  stores,  the  inspector  should  be  uniformed,  preferably  with  fire- 
department  experience.  He  should  make  regular  rounds  of  the  building  and 
register  on  an  approved  watchman's  clock. 

He  shall  also  see  that  all  doors  leading  to  stairways  or  exits  open  outwardly 
in  such  a  way  as  not  to  obstruct  the  passageway,  and  will  immediately  report 
any  found  locked  or  obstructed  to  the  floor  chief  or  chief  engineer. 

During  the  winter  season  attention  should  be  given  to  any  existing  fire 
escapes  where  exposed  to  accumulations  of  ice  or  snow,  and,  whenever  so 
found,  immediate  steps  should  be  taken  for  its  prompt  removal. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  provision  should  be  made  for  a  daily  inspection 
and  test  each  morning  of  the  alarm  system  and  of  all  signaling  devices;  report 
thereof  to  be  made  to  the  chief  engineer. 


APPENDIX  561 

Drill  Exercise.  Exit  drills  should  be  held  as  often  as  necessary,  depend- 
ing upon  the  design  of  the  building,  the  character  of  the  industry,  intelligence 
of  employes,  etc.,  and  should  include  everyone  in  the  building.  The  employes 
should  always  be  dismissed  at  night  by  the  regular  test  signal. 

It  is  advisable  that  the  alarms  announcing  the  drills  for  each  trial  should 
originate  on  different  floors,  in  order  to  give  different  people  an  opportunity 
to  learn  how  to  act  and  have  the  signal  sent  when  they  discover  a  fire,  and  to 
afford  practice  in  changing  the  order  of  precedence  for  possession  of  stair- 
ways or  fire  escapes,  if  the  design  of  the  building  requires  the  latter  to  be  used; 
excepting  that  the  line  of  march  may  be  so  arranged  as  to  take  advantage  of  the 
additional  time  required  in  the  descent  of  those  from  the  upper  floors,  by  dis- 
missing such  of  the  lower  floors  as  would  not  delay  the  egress  of  the 
former. 

A  further  exception  to  the  rule  should  be  made  where  buildings  are  divided 
by  fire  walls  having  protected  openings,  which  would  allow  the  transfer  of  all 
the  occupants  on  a  given  floor  in  the  fire  section  to  an  adjoining  section  on  the 
same  floor  in  the  building,  or  by  means  of  doors  or  a  balcony  to  adjoining  build- 
ings, or  where  provision  is  made  for  ascending  to  roof  exits  that  may  lead  to  a 
safe  retreat,  either  on  or  in  an  adjoining  building. 

In  assigning  stations,  the  first  consideration  is  to  man  the  aisles  leading 
to  each  exit  from  the  fire  district  and  to  prevent  pushing  and  overcrowding. 
As  far  as  possible,  the  aisle  guards  will  endeavor  to  effect  line  formation,  in 
order  that  the  approach  to  the  exit  may  be  as  orderly  as  possible.  At  all  times 
special  consideration  should  be  given  to  women  and  children. 

Employes  who  are  not  members  of  the  section  in  which  they  may  find 
themselves  at  the  time  of  the  test,  upon  the  first  signal  should  be  at  attention 
and  assemble  for  the  line  formation.  Where  the  public  is  present  and  fire 
conditions  permit,  the  line  should  be  led  off  to  other  exits  than  those  to  which 
the  public  may  be  crowding. 

Drill  practice  for  tests  should  closely  approximate  military  precision.  It 
should  be  orderly  and  without  confusion,  and  the  movements  should  be  simple 
and  as  few  in  number  as  possible.  All  movements  should  lead  in  the  direction 
of  the  exits  and  follow  in  response  to  gong  strokes. 

The  first  alarm  will  consist  of  a  series  of  strokes  on  a  single-tap  gong  (twice 
repeated),  indicating  the  floor  from  which  the  alarm  is  given.  Upon  the  first 
stroke  of  this  alarm  all  employes  will  immediately  cease  work,  rise,  and  as 
far  as  possible  shut  off  power  to  machines. 

Upon  the  first  stroke  of  the  drill  gong  each  operative  will  remove  the  stock, 
chairs  or  benches  nearest  him  in  the  aisles,  placing  same  either  under  or  on 
top  of  the  work  table  or  machine.  Before  the  sounding  of  the  second  stroke 
all  aisles  and  passageways  should  be  cleared  of  obstructions  and  the  operatives 
should  stand  ready  for  line  formation,  which  should  be  announced  by  the  second 
stroke. 

The  next  movement  should  be  to  march  to  the  door  of  exit  passage  in 
single  or  double  file.  If  in  double  file,  couples  should  link  arms  for  mutual 
support,  the  women  using  a  free  hand  to  raise  their  skirts  to  prevent  tripping 
themselves  or  those  in  their  immediate  rear,  especially  on  the  stairs,  and  each 
file  will  move  forward,  observing  a  uniform  distance  between  couples  to  pre- 
vent touching.  The  line  should  start  on  motion  signal  of  either  the  floor  chief 


562  THE  MODERN  FACTORY 

or  room  captain,  and  continue  on  to  the  stairway  and  descend,  being  subject 
only  to  the  signals  of  the  stairway  guards. 

No  employe  or  other  persons  should  be  permitted  to  attempt  to  secure 
clothing  or  street  apparel  from  locker  or  cloak  room. 

Drill  exercises  should  aim  to  bring  into  practice  as  often  as  possible  all  of 
the  signals  as  mentioned,  to  insure  against  possible  misunderstanding  at  a 
critical  time. 

Upon  reaching  the  street  the  line  should  be  led  away  to  a  safe  distance 
to  prevent  crowding  and  confusion  around  the  exit,  and  for  this  purpose  one 
of  the  room  chiefs  or  test  supervisors  from  the  first  or  nearest  street  floor 
should  be  assigned  to  the  duty  of  leading  the  line  away  from  the  build  ing. 

Elevator  attendants  should  be  instructed  to  take  cars  immdiately  upon 
the  first  sound  of  the  building  alarm  to  the  floor  indicated  and  hold  themselves 
subject  to  the  orders  of  the  floor  chief.  In  high  buildings  of  the  fire-resistive 
type,  the  operator  should  be  instructed  to  take  his  elevator  into  the  fire  zone 
and  receive  passengers,  and  then  if  conditions  favor  such  a  procedure,  discharge 
them  only  a  few  floors  below  the  fire  zone.  Employes  should  be  instructed 
to  leave  at  that  point  and  go  down  the  stairways.  If  this  procedure  can  be 
carried  out  much  valuable  time  and  many  lives  may  be  saved.  The  usual 
difficulty,  however,  is  that  all  stairways  and  halls  are  crowded  so  that  the 
elevators  must  run  to  the  ground. 

NOTE.  The  practice  of  holding  separate  exit  drills  for  each  room  or  depart- 
ment of  a  building,  unless  in  sections  cut  off  by  standard  fire  walls,  is  believed 
to  be  a  serious  mistake,  not  alone  for  the  single-tenant  factory,  but  in  particular 
for  the  omnibus-tenant  factory,  where  jurisdiction  over  employes  is  divided 
and  where  operatives  of  two  or  more  separate  employers  are  required  to  use  the 
same  avenues  of  egress.  For  drill  purposes,  every  omnibus  factory  building 
should  be  considered  as  a  unit  and  the  suggestions  and  recommendations 
herein  made  applied  to  the  building  as  a  whole. 

Assignment  of  Exits.  The  assignment  of  exits  will  depend  primarily  upon 
their  number,  capacity  and  location  and  to  some  extent  on  then-  arrangement. 
An  exit  discharging  horizontally  into  another  building  or  into  another  section 
of  the  same  building  which  is  cut  off  by  a  fire  wall  having  standard  protected 
openings  will  accommodate  as  many  persons  as  a  separate  and  exclusive  stair- 
way of  the  same  width  for  each  story,  and  with  the  possibilities  of  danger  greatly 
reduced. 

Where  conditions  permit,  it  would  be  desirable  in  drills  to  use  the  regular 
entrances  for  exit  purposes  on  account  of  their  familiarity  to  the  employes 
constantly  using  them.  In  their  selection,  however,  consideration  should  be 
given  to  possible  exposure  by  local  hazards,  such  as  proximity  to  heating  and 
power  plants  and  any  hazardous  processes  or  locations  connected  with  the 
premises.  It  is  also  important  in  arranging  the  regular  exits  to  allow  one  or 
more,  if  possible,  as  entrances  for  firemen.  The  assignment  of  exits  for  different 
floors  should  first  be  based  on  approximate  estimates  of  their  relative  discharging 
capacities,  then  as  a  result  of  actual  tests  based  on  these  estimates,  the  distribu- 
tion to  each  exit  can  be  revised  so  that  the  time  consumed  will  average  about 
the  same  for  all.  In  these  trials  every  available  exit,  including  those  reached 
by  way  of  the  roof,  should  be  considered. 

Frequently  the  arrangement  of  exits  may  be  such  as  to  permit  a  safer  and 


APPENDIX  563 

more  rapid  dismissal  from  an  upper  floor  by  using  the  regular  exits  to  one  of 
the  lower  floors  in  order  to  reach  an  exit  discharging  on  another  side  of  the 
building.  Combinations  of  this  kind  should  be  utilized  wherever  possible 

Signs  to  indicate  location  of  all  stairways,  fire  escapes  and  other  exits  should 
be  displayed  in  the  main  aisles  throughout  building.  For  this  purpose  it  is 
believed  that  the  hollow  iron  sign  with  the  letters  cut  in  each  side,  against  a 
white  background,  are  the  most  effective.  These  signs  may  be  illuminated  for 
use  in  any  dark  sections  of  the  building. 

Notification.  For  the  purpose  of  sounding  a  general  building  alarm,  each 
building  should  be  equipped  with  an  electrically  operated  alarm  system. 
Connected  in  circuit  with  this  system  there  should  be  one  or  more  electro- 
mechanical gongs  or  horns  on  each  floor,  of  suitable  size  to  insure  being  heard 
above  the  noise  of  occupancy,  such  as  moving  machinery.  The  gongs  on  each 
floor  should  simultaneously  indicate  by  strokes  the  floor  from  which  the  alarm 
is  given,  which  should  be  twice  repeated. 

The  use  of  the  box  stations  should  be  restricted  as  far  as  possible,  in  order 
to  confine  their  use  to  the  floor  chief  or  his  assistants,  as  conditions  may  require. 

All  alarm  gongs  used  as  exit  drill  signals  should  be  used  continuously  for 
other  than  drill  purposes  in  order  to  insure  their  being  in  good  condition  and  to 
keep  the  employes  accustomed  to  their  use,  also  to  prevent  the  nervous  shock 
of  a  first  unfamiliar  gong  tap,  which  might  unfit  a  person  for  immediate  emer- 
gency action. 

For  the  information  of  all  employes,  notices  should  be  posted  in  each 
room  giving  full  instructions  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  drills.  These 
notices  should  be  printed  in  the  respective  languages  of  the  employes. 

The  power-plant  engineer,  upon  the  first  signal  of  the  building  alarm, 
should  be  instructed  to  shut  off  power  to  machines  and  shafting  throughout 
the  building,  excepting  in  cases  where  it  would  affect  the  operation  of  the  fire 
pumps,  elevators  or  the  lighting  system. 

A  time  and  place  for  discussing  drills  with  floor  captains,  etc.,  should  be 
frequently  arranged  so  that  errors  and  improvements  in  drill  can  be  pointed 
out  and  discussed. 


IISDEX 


ABBE,  ERNEST,  founder  of  Carl  Zeiss 

Works,  297 
ACCIDENTS,  age  as  cause,  140 

British  Dept.  Committee  on,  145 

carboys,  167 

carelessness,  145 

classification,  140 

cleaning  machinery  ,,/iile  in  motion, 
146 

clothing,  148 

cranes,  168 

defective  materials,  146 

definition  of,  138 

economic  loss  due  to,  133 

extent  and  dangers  of,  129 

falling  weights  as  causes  of,  156 

fatigue,  161 

financial  loss  due  to,  133 

floors,  defective,  156 

flywheels,  184 

hoist  ways  and  elevators,  171 

hours  of  labor  too  long,  161 

ignorance,  148 

in  chemical  trades,  143 

increase  of,  130 

insufficient  data  on,  113 

insurance  in  Gerrr.any,  135 

ladders,  159 

light  defective,  160 

monotony  of  work,  161 

motive  power,  177 

overcrowding,  161 

personal  factor  in,  140 

physical  unfitness  as  cause  of,  143 

rate  in  various  trades,  212 

removal  of  safeguards,  140 

shafts,  185 

social  loss  due  to,  133 

statistics  on,  130 


table  of,  in  Germany,  132 

transportation,  166 

ACCIDENT    PREVENTION,    associations 
for,  in  Europe,  134 

education  as  a  means  of,  149 

eye-glasses  as  means  of,  153 

first  attempts  in  Europe,  134 

general  principles  of,  181 

gloves,  153 

medical  supervision,  150 

physical  examination  of  employes,  149 

proper  clothing,  151 

rigid  inspection,  152     ^ — 
ACIDS  AND  ALKALIES,  danger  of  manu- 
facture, 463 

carbonic.     See  Carbonic  acid,  Air. 

dangerous  conditions,  464 

hydrochloric,  in  industries,  443 
ACME    WHITE   LEAD   Co.,   suggestion 

system,  308 

ADLER,  FELIX,  on  democracy  in  in- 
dustry, 307 
AIR,  bacteria  in,  354 

changes  in,  348 

composition,  347 

confined,  347 

diffusion,  365 

diminution  of  oxygen,  348 

examination  and  tests,  365 

humidity,  355 

increase  in  COa,  350 

organic  matters,  354 

quantity  needed,  366 

rate  of  exchange,  367 

temperature,  355 

testing  of,  384 

ALCOHOL,   methyl,   in    industries,   443 
ALFRED'S,  effect   of  industrial  revolu- 
tion, 30 

565 


566 


INDEX 


AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  FOR  LABOR 
LEGISLATION,  agitation  for  acci- 
dent prevention,  137 

AMERICAN  SHEET  LEAD  Co.,  housing 
of  workers,  345 

AMMONIA,  in  industries,  442 

ANILIN,  in  industries,  442 

ANTIMONY,  in  industries,  442 

APPRENTICESHIP  SCHOOLS,  need  of,  340 

ARKWRIGHT,  first  factory,  19 
patent  on  water  frame,  19 

ARLIDGE,  J.  T.,  on  dust  in  occupations, 
396 

ARSENIC,  effects  of,  449 
in  industry,  442 
Paris  green  packing,  445 
Rogers,  Dr.  C.  T.  G.,  on  dangers  of, 
458 

ASCH  BUILDING  FIRE,  73 

AUTHORIZATION  of  industrial  establish- 
ments, 495 

AUTOMATIC  SPRINKLERS,  105 

BACTERIA  in  air,  354 
BAKESHOPS,  Berlin  and  other  cities,  50 
in  cellars,  50 

medieval,  description  of,  13 
BANCROFT  Co.,  recreation  for  workers, 

330 
BARWISE,    Dr.    SIDNEY,    mortality    of 

gritstone  workers,  416 
BATHING  FACILITIES,   need  and  loca- 
tion of,  273 
BATHS,  facilities  by  various  concerns, 

326 
BAUSH    &    LOME,    old    age    pensions, 

313 

suggestion  systems,  308 
BAYER  CHEMICAL  Co.,  discrimination 

against  unionism,  293 
emergency  hospitals,  334 
housing  of  workers  at  Leverkusen, 

342 

lunch  rooms,  318 
model  establishments,  59 
recreation,  338 
schools,  342 
tiles  for  wall,  63 
welfare  work,  292 


BELLHOUSE,   Mr.,   on  industrial  acci 

dents,  146 

BELTS,  causes  of  accidents,  187 
hand  shifting,  190 
placers  and  shifters,  192 
BENZINE  AND  BENZOLE  in  industries, 

442 

BERKFELDT  FILTER,  265 
BLEACH  WORKERS  AND  WORKS,  dan- 
gers of,  468 

description  of  process,  467 
Hasenclever  process,  470 
inspection,  468 
protection,  432 
BLUM,  Dr.  ANNA,  hygienic   plan    for 

lead  workers,  483 
BOILER  INSPECTION,  134 
BONUS  AND  PREMIUMS,  opposition  to, 

302 

BRASS,  in  industries,  442 
BRITTAIN,  J.  I.,  U.  S.  Consul,  on  fire 

loss  in  Prague,  Bohemia,  76 
BRIZON,  description  of  medieval  work- 
shops, 5 
BROWNE   &   SHARPE   Co.,    apprentice 

school,  340 
libraries,  340 

BURNS,    in    chemical    industries,    221 
in  metal  industries,  213 

CADBURYCO.,  baths,  346 
lunch  rooms,  318 
minimum  wage,  298 
schools,  341 
suggestion  system,  298 
vacations,  317 

CALDER,  JOHN,  accidents  due  to  de- 
fective light,  160 
CANDLE    POWER,    foot    definition    of, 

239 
CARBON-BISULPHIDE      in      industries, 

443 

CARBONIC  ACID,  contents  in  air,  347 
importance  of,  353 
increase  of  influence,  350 
Peterson  and  Palmquist's  test  for, 

388 

tests  for,  386 
CARBON-MONOXIDE  in  industries,  443 


INDEX 


567 


CARHART  MANUFACTURING  Co.,  eight- 
hour  workday,  315 
CARLYLE,    on     English     wealth     and 

English  poverty,  27 
CARTWRIGHT,  E.,  invention  of  power 

loom,  20 

CESSPOOLS  in  factories,  283 
CHADWICK,    report    on    condition    of 

laboring  classes,  30 
CHANDLER    AND     HARRIS'    suggestion 

system,  309 

CHEMICAL  EXTINGUISHERS,  103 
CHEMICAL  INDUSTRY,  importance,  439 

dangers  in,  220 
CHENEY    SILK     MILLS,     housing     of 

workers,  345 

CHLORINE  GAS  in  industries,  442 
CHROMIUM,  in  industries,  442 

effects  of,  449 
CLEANLINESS  in  factories,  legislation, 

508 

CLEVELAND  HARDWARE  Co.'s  sugges- 
tion system,  309 
CLOAK  AND  SUIT  INDUSTRY,  light,  232 

in  loft  buildings,  53 
COLLIS,    E.    L.  Dr.,    effect    of    dust, 

399 

silica  in  dust,  402 

tuberculosis    in    dusty    trades,    416 
COMPENSATION,  workmen's,  in  danger- 
ous trades,  476 

CONCRETE,  for  factory  construction,  60 
CONSTRUCTION,     Greek     houses     and 

shops,  5 

factory  legislation,  498 
floors,  etc.,  96 

COOPER  HEWITT  light,  effects  of,  252 
COSGROVE,  J.  J.,  sanitation  in  factories, 

268 
COTTON,    experts   in   U.    S.,    in    18th 

century,  22 
industry,  22 

production,  increase  of,  21 
CROCKER,    ex-Fire    Chief,    on    incen- 
diarism, 82 
on  fire  drills,  128 
CURTIS  PUBLISHING  Co.,  lunch  room, 

327 
vacations,  317 


CUSPIDORS,  care  of,  263 
cleaning  clutch  for,  263 

DANGEROUS  TRADES,  protection,  471 
DEERING  WORKS,  libraries,  340 
DENSITY  OF  AREA,  as  cause  of  spread 

of  fire,  87 

DEPARTMENTAL  COMMITTEE  ON  ACCI- 
DENTS, 

machinery  as  cause  of  accidents,  178 

speed  as  cause  of  accidents,  162 
DETROIT  GRAPHITE  Co.,  profit  sharing, 

300 

DOMESTIC  PRODUCTION,   definition,   1 
DOORS,  automatic,  96 

material,  96 

method  of  construction,  96 

opening  inwardly,  111 
DRESSING-ROOMS,  cleaning,  272 

need  of,  271 

separation,  272 

DRINKING  WATER,  rules  and  regula- 
tions, 509,  510 
DROP  LADDERS,  types,  120 
DUST,  animal,  418 

cancer  due  to,  407 

chemical  character,  402 

classification,  395 

definition,  392 

effect  on  skin,  405 

effect  upon  workers,  396 

eye  affection,  407 

in  lungs,  407,  408 

mineral,  metal,  417 

number  of  particles  in  air,  392 

prevention,  method,  420 

quantity  inhaled  by  workers,  393 

removal,  method,  425,426 

summary  of  effect  upon  workers,  404 

tuberculous,  409 

vegetable,  417 
DUSTY  TRADES,  classification  of,  395 

EASTMAN,  CRYSTAL,  on  carelessness  of 
workers,  145 

cause  of  accidents,  145 

on  speed  as  cause  of  accidents,  164 
EGYPTIAN  industry,  3 

merchants,  4 


568 


INDEX 


EGYPTIAN  shops,  typical,  3 

wages,  3 

workshops,  3 
ELEVATORS,  accidents  due  to,  171 

as  method  of  transportation,  171 

cable,.  175 

cage,  174 

cars,  174 

operator,  176 

parts,  172 
•  rules  for  safety  devices,  177 

shaft  well,  173 
EMBROIDERY  WORKERS,  in  Brussels,  43 

New  York  city,  44 
EMERY    WHEEL,    GRINDSTONES,    etc., 

safeguarding,  208 
ENGELS,    on    conditions    of    laboring 

class  in  England,  30 
EXPOSURE,  fire  due  to,  82 

prevention,  82 

EXTINGUISHING  OF  FIRES,  102 
EXTINGUISHERS,  FIRE: 

automatic,  105 

chemical,  103 

mechanical,  102 

EYE   GLASSES,   general  requirements, 
155 

FACTORY,  definition,  34 

FANS,  types,  379 

FELS  Co.,  J.,  housing  of  workers,  342 

FIRES,  alarm  systems,  101 

causes  of,  80 

drills,  127 

escapes,  118 

famous,  in  U.  S.,  72-74 

fighting  corps,  107 

in  Europe,  76 

losses,  75 

pails,  102 

protection,  498 

spread,  87 

wall,  114 
FIRST  AID,  appliances,  etc.,  484 

supervision,  333 
FLOOR,  brick,  64 

construction,  65 

cleanliness,  260 
FLYWHEELS,  causes  of  accidents,  184 


FORD  MOTOR  Co.,  division  of  surplus, 

300 
opposition  to  unions,  293 

FOUNDRIES,  dust  in,  412 
mortality  of  workers,  413 

FRAZEE,  Mr.,  perils  of  vertical  travel, 
171 

FREEMAN  FIRE,  in  Binghamton,  74 

FREITAG,  J.  K.,  spontaneous  combus- 
tion, 80 

FREY,  J.  P.,  on  scientific  management, 
304 

FRICK  COKE  Co.,  first  aid,  337 

GALEN,  on  diseases  of  workers,  7 
GENERAL  ELECTRIC  LIGHT  Co.,  schools, 

340 

hospitals,  334 
GFOERER,  Dr.,  absorption  of  lead  dust, 

398 

GLARE,  definition,  241 
diseases  due  to,  236 
prevention,  242 
GLOGAU,  Dr.  OTTO,  effect  of  dust  and 

noise  on  workers,  399 
GORHAM    MANUFACTURING    Co.,    old 

age  pensions,  313 
GOULD,  G.  M.,  eye  strain,  effects  of, 

235 
GRINDERS,  mortality,  413 

safeguarding,  208 
GUILDS,  Roman,  5 
decay  of,  8 
medieval  towns,  8 

HALDANE  and  OSBORNE,  on  influence 
of  confined  air,  358 

HAMILTON,  Dr.  ALICE,  pottery  work- 
ers, 454 
lead  glazes,  456 

HAMMERS,    PRESSES    AND    PUNCHES, 
dangers  and  safeguarding,  195 

HANSEN,  CARL  M.,  economic  loss  due 
to  accidents,  134 

HANSON,  Dr.  W.  C.,  dusty  processes 
in  shoe  industry,  420 

HARGREAVES'  spinning  jenny,  17 

HEIM  and  HERBERT,  study  of  plaster 
workers,  399 


INDEX 


569 


HEINZ  FACTORIES,  bonus  system,  312 

school,  342 

HERODOTUS,  on  trade  in  Greece,  4 
HIGH,  THOMAS,  spinning  jenny,  19 
HIPPOCRATES,  influence  of  work,  5 
HOBSON,  J.  A.,  on  scientific  manage- 
ment, 304 
HOFFMAN,  FREDERICK,  accidents,  133 

classification    of  dusty    trades,    395 

consumption  in  industry  trades,  411 

mortality  in  metal  trade,  411 

vegetable  dust  trades,  417 
HOSPITAL    AND    EMERGENCY    ROOMS, 

333 

HOURS  OF  LABOR,  reduction  of,  314 
HOUSING  OF  WORKERS,  342 
HUMIDITY,  absolute,  355 

excessive,  355 

relative,  356 

table  of,  387 

tests,  385 

ILLUMINATION,  artificial,  250 

color,  252 

Cooper  Hewitt,  252 

electric,  254 

general,  255 

local,  256 

methods  of,  215 

quantity,  257 

requirements,  251 

uniformity,  253 
INCENDIARISM,  extent,  82 
INCOME,  security  of,  297 
INDUSTRIAL  BOARDS,  in  N.  Y.,  Mass. 

and  Penn.,  493 

INDUSTRIAL  DISEASE,  before  the  16th 
century,  15 

first  national  conference  on,  439 

Rammazzini  on,  15 
INDUSTRIAL  REVOLUTION,  24 
INSPECTION,    FACTORY,    beginning   of, 
514 

Europe  and  United  States,  516 

diversity  of  organs,  522 

medical,  528 

methods  of, 

multiplicity  of  agencies,  521 

scope  and  work,  520 


INSPECTION,  FACTORY,  specialization, 
527 

varieties  of  form,  525 
INSPECTORS,    FACTORY,    appointment, 
529 

civil  service  examinations,  534 

compensation    in    European    coun- 
tries, 535 

duties,  524 

pension,  537 

promotion,  536 

qualification,  521 

requirements   in   various   countries, 
536 

right  of  entry,  523 

selection,  529 

women,  528 

INSURANCE,  sickness  and  accident,  311 
INTERNATIONAL  HARVESTER  Co.,  acci- 
dent prevention,  137 

insurance  of  workers,  311 

medical  supervision,  329 

old  age  pension,  313 

recreation,  330 

standards  for  light,  234 

welfare  work,  290 
IROQUOIS  THEATER  FIRE,  72 

KALKOFF'S,  new  process  of  lead  manu- 
facture, 453 

KAY,  Mr.,  maker  of  first  spinning 
jenny,  19 

KENT,  R.  TH.,  on  good  illumination, 
233 

KIRBY,  J.,  Jr.,  economic  loss  due  to 
accidents,  133 

KIRKER-BENDER  fire  escape,  122 

LEAD,  acute  and    chronic    poisoning, 

symptoms  of,  450 
bed  stripping,  453 
dangers  in  various  trades,  454 
Dutch  and  chamber  process,  451 
effects  and  dangers,  448 
manufacture,  processes  of,  451 
prohibition,  478 
substitution,  479 
symptoms  of  poisoning,  448 
wrist  drop,  448 


570 


INDEX 


LEE,  F.  C.,  influence  of  temperature 

and  humidity,  361 

LEGGE  and  GOABY,  lead  poisoning, 
445 

susceptibility  of  females,  445 
LEGISLATION,  FACTORY,  beginnings  of, 

486 
LEVER  BROS.,  baths,  326 

minimum  wage,  298 

profit  sharing,  298 

recreation,  328 
LEYMAN,    Prof.,    extent   of   industrial 

poisoning,  440 
LIBRARIES,  in  factories,  340 
LIFE,  Loss  OF,  in  fires,  107 

in  industries,  129 
LIGHT,  accidents,  234 

diseases  due  to  defective,  236 

efficiency,  233 

eye  strain  caused  by,  235 

importance,  232 

measure,  239 

natural,  243 

quantity,  239 

standards,  237 
LIGHTNING,  fires  due  to,  82 
LOCKERS,  in  dressing  rooms,  273 
LOFT,  building  construction,  110 

fire  dangers,  87 

in  certain  industries,  52 

prevention  of  fires,  89 

zone  in  New  York  city,  87 
LOWNEY  CHOCOLATE  Co.,  bonus  pay- 
ments, 302 

LUDLOW  TEXTILE  MILLS,  apprentice- 
ships schools,  341 
LUNCH  ROOMS,  need  of,  281 

laws  in  Europe  and  United  States, 
513 

McKENNA,  CH.  F.,  manufacture  of 
commercial  acids,  463 

McKEON,  P.  J.,  on  factory  fires,  73 

MACHINERY,  accidents  due  to,  179 
increase  of,  179 

MANNING,  Dr.,  sanitary  clutch  for 
cuspidors,  263 

MASSACHUSETTS,  commission  on  fac- 
tory inspection,  494 


MATERIALS  of  construction,  fire-proof 

etc.,  90 
MEDICAL   SUPERVISION   in   dangerous 

trades,  485 
MERCURY,     effects    and     symptoms, 

443 

carotting,  462 
MILL    CONSTRUCTION,    definition     of, 

91 

particulars,  59 
MILLER,  R.  P.,  objection  to  common 

fire  escapes,  121 

MODEL  FACTORIES,  conception,  66 
economic  relations,  67 
in  medieval  ages,  69 
New  Lanark,  69 
sanitary  conditions,  67 
standards  of,  67 
welfare,  68 
MOMMSEN,  on  Roman  guilds,  5 

NATIONAL    BISCUIT    Co.,    fore-    and 

afternoon  pauses,  315 
change  of  work,  316 
NATIONAL  BOARD  OF  UNDERWRITERS, 

fire  losses,  75 
fire  walls,  115 
NATIONAL  CASH  REGISTER  Co.,  baths, 

326 

emergency  hospitals,  334 
lunch  room,  320 
recreation,  329 
rest  rooms,  294 
schools,  341 
shop  committees,  310 
suggestion  system,  308 
NATIONAL  COUNCIL  FOR  SAFETY,  acci- 
dent prevention,  137 
NATIONAL  FIRE  PROTECTION  ASSOCIA- 
TION,   on    vertical    openings    in 
buildings,  98 
on  fire  walls,  114 
NATIONAL  LAMP  WORKS,  lunch  rooms, 

320 

recreation,  329 

NATIONAL  MANUFACTURERS'  ASSOCIA- 
TION, activities,  287 
NELSON  Co.,  profit  sharing,  298 
housing,  344 


INDEX 


571 


NEWARK,  WOLFF  FIRE,  72 
NEW  YORK  STATE  FACTORY  COMMIS- 
SION, accidents    in    chemical    in- 
dustries, 143 

cleanliness,  261 

dangers  in  chemical  industries,  220 

home  work,  43 

light,  230 

morbidity  of  foundry  workers,  214 

toilet  accommodations,  275 

washing  facilities,  268 
NIAGARA   FALLS,    chemical   establish- 
ments, 416 
NITRO-BENZOL,  in  industries,  444 

nitroglycerine,  444 
NOISES,  in  factories,  283 
NORTON  Co.,  medical  supervision,  329 
NURSES,  need  in  factories,  336 
NYSTAGMUS,  caused  by  certain  work, 
237 

OLIVER,  SIR  THOMAS,  on  dust  in  trades, 

397 

OVERCROWDING,  cause  of  fires,  109 
OWEN,  ROBERT,  new  Lanark  factory,  69 
OXYGEN.     See  Aip. 

PARIS  GREEN.     See  Arsenic. 
PEMBREY  AND  COLLIS,  humidity  and 

temperature,  358 

PENNSYLVANIA    RAILROAD    Co.,    de- 
crease of  accidents,  137 
PENSION,  OLD  AGE,  313 
PETERSON  and  PALMQUIST,  instrument, 

389 

PETTENKOFER,  test  for  CO2,  386 
PHILADELPHIA  TOWER,  advantages,  122 
PHOSPHORUS,  in  industries,  444 
effects,  449 
prohibition,  462 

PHOTOMETERS,  for  measuring  light,  239 
PHYSICAL  EXAMINATION,  need  of,  436 
PiERCE-ARROwCo.,  baths,  326 

lunch  rooms,  320 
PITTSBURGH  SURVEY,  accidents  due  to 

long  hours,  162 
PLATO,  on  workers,  5 
PLENUM,  system  of  ventilation,  379 
PLINY,  on   danger  of  workers  in  zinc 
mines,  7 


PLUMBING,  pipes  and  fixtures,  275 
POISONS,  industrial,  438 

classification,  441 

POMPEII,   organization   of  workers,    6 
PORTER,  H.  F.  J.,  capacity  of  stairs,  117 

fire  walls,  115 

PRATT,  E.  E.,  cases  of  lead  poisoning, 
451 

among  painters,  457 
PRATT  and  LETCHWORK,  lunch  room, 

320 

PREMIUMS.     See  Bonus. 
PRESSES  AND  PUNCHES,  feeding  of,  198 

methods  of  safeguarding,  195 

types,  194 

two-hand  system  of  guards,  197 
PRIVIES,  construction  of,  282 
PROFIT-SHARING,  theory  and  practice 

of,  298 
PROPELLERS,  type  of  fans,  379 

Taylor,  F.  W.,  on,  300 
PRUDENTIAL  INSURANCE  Co.,  mortal- 
ity of  painters,  456 
PULLEYS,  causes  of  accident,  187 

loose  and  tight,  191 
PULLMAN    CAR    Co.,    supervision    of 
washing  facilities,  271 

reduction  of  lead  poisoning   cases, 
271 

lunch  rooms,  322 

RAMAZZINI,  BERNARDO,  father  of  in- 
dustrial     hygiene,      biographical 
notes,  15 
work  of,  17 

RAMBOUSEK,  Dr.,  classification  of  in- 
dustrial poisons,  447 
RECREATION,  in  factories,  328 
REGISTRATION  of  industrial  establish- 
ments, 494 
RESPIRATORS,    in    dusty   trades,    434 

covers,  435 
ROGERS,  Dr.  C.  T.  G.,  amount  of  dust 

in  air,  393 
arsenic,  460 
defective  light,  235 
ROLLS,  CALENDER,  dangers,  201 
safeguards,  203 
types,  200 


572 


INDEX 


ROME,  guilds,  5 

houses,  6 

proletariat,  6 

workshops,  6 

ROOF,  construction  and  as  means  of 
egress,  112 

SAFETY  ENGINEERING,  list  of  fires,  in 

1913,  78 

SAND-BLASTING,  dangers  of,  413 
SANITATION,  conception  and  classifica- 
tion, 259 

SAWS,  types  of,  208 
safeguarding,  210 
SCHERESHEWSKY,  J.  W.,  new  wet  and 

dry  bulb  instrument,  385 
SCHOOLS,     apprenticeship,     continua- 
tion, etc.,  341 
SCIENTIFIC   MANAGEMENT,   definition, 

303 

objections  to,  304         ^. 
SCREWS,  dangers  of,  187 

safeguarding,  187 

SEARS,  ROEBUCK  &  Co.,  medical  su- 
pervision, 329 

SEITZ,  DON  C.,  on  methods  of  fire  pro- 
tection, 126 

SEWAGE  DISPOSAL,  methods  of,  282 
SHAFTS,  accidents  caused  by,  185 

safeguarding,  186 
SHERWIN,    WILLIAMS    Co.,    libraries, 

340 

premiums,  302 
SHOP  COMMITTEES,  310 
SHREDDED  WHEAT  Co.,  food,  321 
insurance  of  workers,  311 
libraries,  340 
pauses,  315 

SLATER,  SAMUEL,  first  mill,  22 
SMOKE,  as  a  nuisance,  284 

prevention,  284 
SOAP  SUPPLY,  in  factories,  271 
SODIUM    BICARBONATE,    in    chemical 

extinguishishers,  104 
SOLVAY  PROCESS  Co.,  eight-hour  shifts, 

315 

schoolsrJ342 

SOMMERFELD,    Dr.,    consumption 
among  workers,  410 


SPINNING  JENNY,  invented  19, 

first  introduction  to  U.  S.,  21 
SPLITTERS.     See  Saws,  210 
SPONTANEOUS     COMBUSTION,     defini- 
tion, 80 

prevention,  82 
SPRINKLERS,  automatic,  105 
STAIRS,  capacity,  117 

construction,  115 

types,  100 
STANDARDS,  for  legislation,  491 

factory  inspection,  543 

need  of,  493 

STANDPIPE,  and  hose,  105 
STIEDA,  WILHELM,  large  factories  in 

Middle  Ages,  11 
STONE,    W.    S.,    opposition   to   bonus 

system,  302 

SUGGESTION  SYSTEM,  meaning  of,  308 
SULPHUR,  in  industries,  444 
SWEATSHOPS,  home  work,  42 

in  London,  43 
SWIFT  &  Co.,  medical  supervision,  329 

TALBOT  WOOLEN  MILLS,  old  age  pen- 
sions, 313 
TATHAM,  JOHN,  comparative  mortality 

of  workers,  410 
TAYLOR,  F.  W.,  conception  of  profit 

sharing,  300 

scientific  management,  303 
TELEKY,    Prof.,    dangers    of   painting 

trade,  456 

TEMPERATURE,  of  air,  dangers  of,  355 
effects,  356 
influence,  361 
TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES,  accidents  in,  224 

joint  conference,  229 
THERMOMETER,   for    testing    tempera- 
ture and  humidity,  385 
THERMOSTATS,  for  detecting  fires,  101 
THOMPSON,  Prof.  W.   G.,  relation  of 

dust  to  tuberculosis,  397 
classification  of  poisons,   gases  and 

fumes,  442 

TOILET  ACCOMMODATIONS,  doors,  278 
construction,  277 
cleanliness,  281 
flush,  278 


INDEX 


573 


TRIANGLE  WAIST  Co.  FIRE,  73 

loss  of  life  in,  73 
TUBERCULOSIS,  due  to  dust,  409 

among  workers,  439 

mortality  rate  of,  410 

URINALS,  construction,  279 

cleanliness,  281 

U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  LABOR,  report 
on  fatigue  as  cause  of  accidents, 
164 
U.  S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY,  fire  losses 

in  U.  S.,  74 
U.  S.  PRINTING  OFFICE,  care  of  cus-- 

pidors,  263 

UNITED  SHOE  MACHINE  MANUFACTUR- 
ING Co.,  model  plants,  57 
apprentice  school,  340 
recreation,  328 
U.  S.  STEEL  Co.,  accident  prevention, 

136 

decrease  in  accidents,  137 
first  aid,  337 

hostility  to  unionism,  239 
old  age  pension,  313 
prevention  of  accidents,  150 
recreation,  331 
welfare  work,  339 

VACATIONS,  for  workers,  307 
VACUUM  SYSTEM  OF  VENTILATION,  378 
VAN  KLEEK,    Miss,   homeworkers  in 

flower  and  feather  trades,  44 
VAN  SCHAACK  on  dangers  of  old  style 

jointers,  217 
VENTILATION,  devices,  371 

description  of  methods,  429 

dust  removal,  429 

exhausts  for,  439 

laws  on,  506 

mechanical,  374 

methods,  377 

principles  of,  364 

WAGE  MINIMUM,  298 
WALLS,  cleaning,  260 

construction,  95 
WASH-BASINS,  hot  water  supply,  269 

location,  269 


WASHING  FACILITIES,  laws  on,  509 

supervision,  271 

types,  268 

WASTE  FACTORY,  disposal  of,  285 
WATER  BUCKETS,  need  for  fire  fight- 
ing, 102 
WATER  SUPPLY,  cooling  of,  266 

distillation,  266 

drinking  cups  for,  266 

filtration,  265 

fixtures,  266 

hot  water,  269 

purity  of,  264 
WELFARE  WORK,  activities,  287 

classification,  295 

conception,  287 

definition,  288 

example,  288 

importance,  294 

motives,  287 

multiplicity,  287 

objections  to,  292 

opposition  of  workers,  294 

purpose,  288 

social,  288 

value  of,  294 

variety  of  forms,  294 
WESTERN  ELECTRIC   Co.,   apprentice 
schools,  340 

baths,  327 

hospitals,  334 

pension,  313 

WESTINGHOUSE  AIR  BRAKE  Co.,  ap- 
prentice schools,  340 

hospitals,  334 

pensions,  313 
WINDOWS,  area,  247 

exposure  to  fire,  110 

glass  for,  249 

means  of  ventilation,  369 

relation  to  light,  245 

to  fire  escapes,  112 

WINSLOW,  C.-E.  A.,  Prof.,  air  testing, 
389 

importance  of  physical  conditions  of 
air,  361 

instruments  used  for  air  tests,  391 
WIRE-GLASS,  as  fire  resisting  material, 


574 


INDEX 


WISCONSIN  INDUSTRIAL  COMMISSION, 
accidents  in  metal  industry,  213 

elevators,  rules  for,  176 

eye  accidents,  153 

floor  as  causes  of  accidents,  158 

personnel,  high  character  of,  493 

planers,  accidents  due  to,  215 

rules  of  shop  lighting,  258 

rules    on    toilet     accommodations, 
511 

rules  on  ventilation,  507 
WOOD  INDUSTRIES,  accidents,  215 


WRIGHT,    CARROLL   D.,   definition  of 
factory,  34 

ZEISS,  CARL  STIFTUNG,  baths,  326 
housing,  342 
insurance,  311 
minimum  wage,  298 
recreation,  328 
security  of  employment,  297 
shop  committee,  310 
suggestion  system,  30S 
vacations,  317 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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